KATHMANDU – Nepal’s fresh-faced lawmakers convened April 2 in a gleaming new Parliament building, their first session since fiery anti-corruption riots torched the old one and ousted the government last September, marking a seismic shift under rapper-turned-leader Prime Minister Balendra Shah.
The 35-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) boss, clad in signature black attire and shades indoors, commanded 182 of 275 seats from March polls, just shy of a supermajority. Shah, mum since victory save for an oath and unity-themed rap track touting “national power,” watched as RSP president Rabi Lamichhane fired up the house: “These votes demand change and we’ve ignited it. Monitor us round-the-clock; guide our stumbles with your wisdom.”
This youthful assembly boasts nearly 60 MPs under 40, a stark youthquake from the old guard. The deadly unrest, sparked by a short-lived social media blackout but fueled by graft rage and woes, claimed 76 lives over two chaotic days. Probes finger ex-PM KP Sharma Oli, former home minister Ramesh Lekhak, and Kathmandu’s ex-chief officer Chhabilal Rijal for negligence-linked deaths; all three arrested, denying roles, await charges.
Lamichhane’s call for opposition oversight signals a pledge to deliver amid scrutiny. As Shah’s “strength of unity” ethos takes root, Nepal pivots from ashes to anti-corruption vows, eyeing economic revival in the Himalayas.