Gagan Thapa's 'Samunnat Nepal': Questions on welfare-state cost and inclusiveness

A writer has published an open letter on Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa's "Samunnat Nepal" (Prosperous Nepal) concept, raising the question of who will bear the cost of the welfare state it envisions.

The letter says it was written after watching Thapa's interview broadcast on Himalaya Television.

The writer called Thapa's effort to move Congress away from old political narratives and electoral arithmetic toward a debate on the economy, human capital and equality of opportunity a step in the right direction.

The writer argued that the party's future cannot be found by mapping the economic and social structure of the B.P. Koirala era directly onto today's technology, capital and labor.

Thapa has said the state must invest in citizens' nutrition, health and education from birth, and that development and the environment should be viewed as parts of a single system.

But the writer pointed out that showing a destination and making the path to reach it clear are two different things, and asked for answers on how the tax base, revenue sources and accountability of public spending would be ensured.

The letter also asks who will control market power and how an already unequal playing field will be changed, and demands that the freedom to create wealth be separated from monopoly and crony capitalism.

The writer also raised the issue of how communities historically excluded from power would become decisive in decision-making processes.