Pokhara, September 23 :

Former general secretary of the Nepal Students’ Union (NSU), Gagan Thapa, today said that change in the country was not possible until monarchy goes.

Speaking at a programme to wish greetings on the occasion of Dashain, organised today by the Nepal Tarun Dal City Committee, Pokhara, Thapa said monarchy was the root of all problems.

“Nepali Congress should clarify why it wants to give continuity to monarchy,” said Thapa.

The military coup in Thailand shows that people are always insecure under a monarchy, said Thapa, adding that a republic could not be established through guns or weapons. He urged the Maoists to give up weapons and join the politics of peace. Thapa claimed that a republic could not be established in the country until the Nepali Congress takes the initiative for it.

Unification of the Nepali Congress and Nepali Congress-Democratic is necessary for the secure future of the nation, said Thapa, adding that a decision regarding this and the agenda of the Nepali Congress to go in for a constituent assembly should be taken soon.

Flaying the agitation of business entrepreneurs, Thapa said no person who has misused

industrial loans should be let off the hook.

Banks should retrieve their loans in the same manner whether the person taking loan is a farmer who wants to buy goats or an industrialist, he said.

District level Nepali Congress leaders and leaders of sister organisations also expressed their views on the occasion.