KATHMANDU, MARCH 20 The leaders of the Nepal Student Union (NSU) are calling for the organisation to become a functionally independent entity rather than a 'sister wing' of the Nepali Congress. The NSU Senate meeting held here decided to continue being a student-serving organisation rather than a sister organisation. 'More than 70 per cent of senators present today supported autonomy. Therefore, even though it will be difficult, we want to steer the students' movement in a positive direction,' NSU President Dujang Sherpa told THT. The NSU's Spokesperson, Suraj Sejuwal, also called for 'functional autonomy' (karyagat swayattata) to free the organisation from the Nepali Congress, its mother party. Sejuwal contended that the union's current status as a 'sister wing' hinders its ability to effectively advocate for student rights and educational reform, pointing out that internal party factionalism (gutbandi) has caused the NSU convention to stall for more than 10 years. The NSU would maintain its ideological affiliation with the Nepali Congress under the proposed model, but it would acquire the autonomy to conduct automated elections and, if needed, act as a voice of opposition to the party's leadership. 'Autonomy and separation are not the same thing. We want autonomy, not separation. We also want to be our party's opposition,' Sejuwal told THT. The NSU is classified as a 'sister wing' under the current Nepali Congress statute, which means that the party leadership must approve its own constitution before it can be put into effect. Currently, the president of the Nepali Congress has the authority to dissolve the union at any time and appoint members of the NSU central committee if positions become available. 'The Nepali Congress will be the mother party, according to our bidhan (statute), but the convention won't take place unless the Nepali Congress president requests it. Whenever he wants, he can dissolve the union; whenever he wants, he can appoint anyone nearest and dearest to him. We became more involved as a result, and these political leaders actually exploited us for their own political ends. Our educational agendas went unheard,' Sejuwal admitted. 'For instance, the minister is the one who suggests that I be appointed to the central committee, and I am powerless to speak out if he makes a mistake. They literally turned us into jholes, or blind followers of the faction's dais (elder brothers) and bhaujus (sisters-inlaw). However, we want autonomy to fully utilise our potential.' He also lamented that NSU could have been the face of the Gen Z uprising, but the party's encroachment severely limited its role. 'And we got blamed for the party mistake,' he added. 'Thus, we seek functional autonomy from our party.' The NSU even released a statement supporting the Gen Z demonstration, but due to the nature of its affiliation, the organisation's voice was ignored, said Sejuwal. 'Therefore, autonomy should be granted to all sister organisations in addition to NSU.'