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00:01How do you assess Balin's this kind of victorious mandate?
00:08So he has been instrumental in changing the people's mindset, the understanding and the hope.
00:19The government got toppled post-youth-led protest.
00:24Nepal has, as I mentioned earlier, we are very diverse in terms of not just only geography or ecologically, but
00:32we have caste, ethnicity, peoples.
00:39How do you see the relationship between India and Nepal evolving under this new government?
00:51Since we have people-to-people relationship, so government-to-government relationship should also cherish that and maintain that to
01:00the next level.
01:09Today, we are being exclusively joined by Madhya Prasad Cholaghen,
01:15Minister for Forest and Environment, the outgoing minister in the interim government.
01:23After the Jainzi protest and the 2025 riots which forced K.P. Sharma Oli's ouster, Nepal witnessed a very successful
01:35election
01:36wherein Balin Shah and Rasheel Swatantra party emerged victorious.
01:42Today, Mr. Cholaghen joins us to discuss Balin's mandate,
01:48neighbouring countries' role post Oli's ouster and also the interim government's handling the unrest among others.
01:56Thank you, sir, for joining us.
01:58Mr. Cholaghen, first I would like to understand, how do you assess Balin's this kind of victorious mandate?
02:07It's overwhelming. It's overwhelming in terms of the way his team created a massive interest to select the new faces,
02:24to elect new faces in the country.
02:25So, he has been quite inspiring figure among the youths, not only youths, I think for all kind of people
02:36in the country for the last couple of years.
02:39Before becoming the mayor of the metropolitan capital city of Kathmandu, he was also popular among the youngsters.
02:51So, he has been an inspiring and interesting figure over the past many years and especially in this context.
03:02So, he has been instrumental in changing the people's mindset, the understanding and the hope.
03:11Like, especially the people have seen a hope in him that he can make a change, you know, that's what
03:19he created his image around the years.
03:24Mr. Cholaghen, now if we come back to the interim government, everybody saw what happened back in September of 2025.
03:33If we were to ask you, in your assessment, how do you think the interim government handled how good it
03:42was in handling the unrest that we saw last year in September of 2025?
03:50Yeah, thankfully, now we have the outcome of the election. So, it went very successfully. It created a record that
04:01within a very short time, we could turn out this in a peaceful manner.
04:06So, looking at the beginning, you know, the September unrest, everybody was skeptical, you know, amidst this, you know, chaotic
04:14situation.
04:16I mean, there was a lot of like disbelief that how could, you know, this level, this scale of unrest
04:23can be, you know, settled in a very peaceful manner.
04:25So, within the government, within the country and outside of the world, people have, you know, skeptical view over the
04:38transparency, actually, you know, the capacity of, you know, delivering these things.
04:46But, you know, our Prime Minister, Susila Karki, you know, under her command, the team, the cabinet member, they work
04:55so hard and with the honest, the integrity that, you know, our main focus was to, you know, like most
05:05of them, you know, we respect the, they were from the legal background.
05:12And they knew the, what does the constitution mean, you know, what is legitimate process means.
05:19So, despite this, you know, this revolution, so, bringing the country into a peaceful transition, it requires a lot of
05:29thoughtful process and patience, you know.
05:34So, this all element, I think, it was, it was successfully materialized.
05:42So, looking at, you know, those couple of weeks in the beginning and now after, you know, coming into the
05:50entire country into the political, the election mood was very interesting, you know, until last week of election, people are
05:58still skeptical whether it will actually happen or not.
06:01There are two factors.
06:03There are two factors.
06:03One, whether all parties would come into this election process or not, you know, that was one kind of distress.
06:12Other is, you know, even we're looking at this, it's just like we're, it's winter is over.
06:17So, Nepal is mountainous countries, you know, very diverse.
06:22It's still like some people are, if there are like heavy rainfall, snowfall, you know, it would hamper.
06:28But, I mean, this all kind of like situation, so, it, it, it actually happened, happened for a good, yeah.
06:38Mr. Chol again, if we circle back to the unrest only.
06:44In such scenarios, the neighboring countries always play a huge role.
06:49In that case, how do you see the neighboring countries?
06:53What was their role in stabilizing whatever was happening in Nepal last year post K.P.S.A. Maoli's obstacle?
07:01Of course, like always, you know, because I mean neighbors, you know, if you, if you, if you, if you,
07:08if you take that example in a village, we have a village, village countries.
07:12So, the neighbors, you know, you have so many relations, so established there.
07:18We are connected by land or by other cooperative things.
07:23So, if neighbors do not help, you cannot succeed, right?
07:29If there is, so, so, so, so the relationship with the neighboring countries actually means a lot.
07:35So, in this case, India has been a very good neighbor, you know, from the very beginning, you know, the,
07:41India respected the, the popular voice, the democratic, its youth voice, you know, that, that was, that reflection has come
07:50in, you know, all the, all over the media.
07:52Even, even, even the government also supported in this process.
07:56Even when we are working on the election process, especially India and later China as well.
08:03So, our two close neighbors, they supported India from the beginning actually supported very much for this democratic transition.
08:15So, actually, it plays a very vital role.
08:18And beside our neighboring countries, there are other friendly countries of Nepal.
08:25They also helped.
08:27They, they extended their good wishes and the many countries supported in other, other ways as well.
08:33So, without their support, it could not have been, you know, success in this way.
08:38So, thanks to them all.
08:41Mr. Cholagin, now that we are on the topic of the kind of role the neighboring countries play, if we
08:48were to draw a parallel between Nepal and Bangladesh, in both the countries, the government was toppled post a youth
08:56-led protest.
08:57However, at the same time, in your opinion, how do you think and what do you think the situation in
09:03Nepal, how different was it as compared to Bangladesh?
09:08Well, and yeah, we are also like watching Bangladesh progress, you know, like, yeah, it took a while to materialize
09:18the election in Bangladesh.
09:19And even the, the first youth force, they, those, those people expected that they will come into the position.
09:28But somehow, I mean, the, the, the, the, finally the election in Bangladesh happened.
09:33But Nepal materialized that this election, you know, quite in time, in a very short time, like just in six
09:40months.
09:40Because I think there might be a good reason, like Nepal experience, Nepal has, as I mentioned earlier, you know,
09:48we are very diverse, diverse in terms of not just only geography or ecologically, but we have like caste, ethnicity,
09:56peoples, right?
09:57There are different linguistic diversity as well.
09:59So, so, so this diversity were mainstream, you know, from the past exercise, democratic exercise, from maybe in 30 years
10:13or so.
10:13So that characteristics, I think, led the, all other political parties, the new youth force.
10:22I mean, they gradually, you know, respected this diversity and, and people's mandate.
10:26So, even though there were like, disbelief in the system in the beginning, on the, at the time of this
10:36unrest, but soon after, even the youth, who actually were in front, forefront of this unrest, this revolution, they realized
10:46the importance of this election ballot or democratic process to have a peaceful transition, as well as to achieve their
10:54demand.
10:56And, uh, uh, uh, uh, their agenda, like, as in that, you know, as in that constitutional reform, maybe other
11:02reform as well.
11:03So, so, and that, that understanding, uh, is actually like people's, uh, over like, they, they, they supported like, you
11:12know, each other, like, you know, common people also participated in the process, the youth, uh, the, the previous party,
11:19uh, the leaders.
11:20Uh, so they all come into one conclusion that if we have to maintain a peaceful peace and prosperity in
11:26the country, so this is the way to go.
11:28Actually, it actually probed very true that, um, even there, there are some skeptical views in the past that, you
11:36know, within this current constitutional framework, nobody could get a, like, you know, two-third majority or, uh, highest majority.
11:42Always we are, uh, uh, uh, grippling under the hung parliament because of the, uh, the kind of system, the,
11:50the election system or the democratic system we follow here, the, uh, party system.
11:55But this all proved, uh, wrong, uh, this time.
11:58So, it is possible if you, if you really set a agenda, uh, I know, if you have a agenda
12:03that are for the people, by the people.
12:06So, in this all ways, I think this is some way, uh, the characteristics that was developed in the country,
12:12the characteristics of these, uh, principles, the Lok Tantric principles or, like, uh, the, uh, the, the democratic principles.
12:20So, I think that was the reason why you could materialize this, uh, in, in time and, and quite, uh,
12:25in a short period of time.
12:27Yeah.
12:28Mr. Cholaghan, when it comes to the new government coming into power, um, so much will be, uh, there's so
12:37many things that needs their utmost care and attention, uh, be it, uh, at the domestic platform or the, uh,
12:46at, uh, at the foreign level.
12:48So, what are the issues that require immediate attention of this new government?
12:53And also, what kind of attention, uh, should the, uh, should this new government be giving to the foreign policies
13:00given it is coming at a time when so much is happening in West Asia?
13:05Right, uh, yeah, you are right, like, at the domestic level, uh, within the system, I mean, these people's unrest,
13:11the reason behind this unrest is people are not satisfied with the, the delivery, uh, this, the, of the previous,
13:18uh, government system.
13:20So, so, so they need some kind of governance, good governance, right? Establishing good governance.
13:25You need some, uh, some measures like, uh, it, it may be reforming, uh, the, the, uh, some, some, uh,
13:32legal, uh, provisions or, uh, the instruments, uh, legal instrument or setting this reforming the bureaucracy, which is the delivery
13:41mechanism of the, uh, political, uh, aspirations and agenda.
13:44So, uh, so, so, so bringing that into a safe, uh, uh, making an efficient, um, and, and, and performance
13:51-oriented, uh, governance is one of the big challenges, you know, that actually, uh, contributes, uh, to the agenda of,
14:00uh, uh, preventing, uh, the corruption, uh, uh, that, the, the, so, so that is, uh, a thing, uh, to,
14:08to, to take care in, within the country.
14:10So, and, and, and, and in the, at the foreign level, as you are right, Leonard, there are lots of
14:14geopolitical tensions going on, but Nepal being a country, which I, we, we, we, we keeps the neutral stance, uh,
14:21for, for, uh, and, uh, we have our own, uh, principles of, um, uh, doing, uh, working with, uh, with,
14:29with our, uh, friendly countries, neighbor countries.
14:31So, this new government, uh, should maintain that relationship and, and bring that to the next level.
14:38So, um, and this, I have seen some indication that, you know, they are careful, uh, the, uh, the upcoming,
14:44uh, the leadership is, is quite, uh, uh, they understand this, this nuance of, you know, maintaining that relationship, uh,
14:52and, and bringing that to the new level.
14:54So, and, and they, uh, I've seen, like, some, some, some, some early, uh, communication, early post sharing.
15:01So, they are committed to, um, have the Nepal's, uh, foreign relationship, uh, to, to, to the level that, uh,
15:07that actually help our country, uh, become prosperous, you know, uh, bring peace in the country.
15:13So, I'm very hopeful that they will, uh, care, take care of this in, in very, um, efficient, uh, very,
15:19uh, successful manner in future.
15:22Mr. Chalagin, now my last question to you, uh, India is one of the closest neighboring countries for Nepal.
15:30How do you see, uh, the relationship between India and Nepal evolving under this new government?
15:37Also, when, in the past, it's seen the kind of critical comments that have been made by Balin Shah.
15:45Uh, I mean, yeah, there's some other, uh, media also interested on, like, I know whether that will, you know,
15:50change, uh,
15:51or what it really means, uh, what is there.
15:54And I, I don't think that, uh, they will, uh, that kind of, uh, if, if there had been anything,
16:00you know, it will create, uh, a situation, I mean, difficult situation in future.
16:04And that's absolutely not, uh, not an issue because the, the relationship, you know, when we have certain, uh, role,
16:11you know, you have to perform according to the role you have received, right?
16:15You have achieved, so it's, it's, uh, teamwork, uh, and Nepal, India in particularly, you know, our relationship is as
16:23world, you know, it's, it's our, we share the civilization, we share the trade, we share the ecosystem, biodiversity, and
16:31so many, not just only cultural, it's a natural connections also there, you know, nobody can actually prevent that, uh,
16:37that, that relationship, uh, becoming flourish.
16:40Uh, so, so I think, you know, looking at, from that ground level, so the government, you know, like, since
16:47we have people to people relationship, so government to government relationship should also, uh, cherish that and maintain, you know,
16:56that to the next level.
16:56Because what do you work, where you work for the people, right?
17:00So, so maintaining that is very crucial thing.
17:03And, and new government, you know, they, they, they are, uh, they actually speak the people's language, you know, the,
17:08the youth's language.
17:09And even like youth between Nepal and India, they have a very good relationships.
17:14Even like Balenciar just recently, uh, in his, uh, ex-post, uh, uh, congratulated India for, uh, winning the, uh,
17:24T20 World Cup.
17:25So, you know, that level of, like, a sports connection is there, music connections is there, you know, the traditional,
17:32uh, the cultural connection is there.
17:34So, looking at that ground, I think it will be more productive, uh, and, and more, uh, creative, uh, relationship
17:40that they are going to maintain with India.
17:43Uh, that's what I believe.
17:44And then they should also, uh, focus on that as well.
17:47Because we know that economically Nepal, uh, we're, we're, we're, we're aiming to graduate from least developed country to, uh,
17:55uh, to next level.
17:57So, India is, is a, is a, is a economic, uh, economic, uh, power center, you know, in, in this
18:04side of the world, especially in, in, in the South Asian context.
18:08So, uh, we can, uh, benefit from, you know, these Indian technologies, economic opportunities.
18:14So, uh, to fulfill, uh, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, our, the, the aspirations as well.
18:19So, uh, these are the area, I think, definitely, uh, they will look up and look into, uh, it's, uh,
18:27so, yeah, it will definitely, uh, and, and lastly, uh, this, this, this, this new upcoming government is providing a
18:34stable government.
18:35You know, these people's mandate is in that way.
18:37So, if the government is stable, so bilateral relationship also becomes stable and they bring to the new level because
18:44you don't have, like, multiple centers to, you know, maintain the relationship.
18:47So, you have one and for long, uh, at least, you know, for, for a certain duration of time.
18:53So, this pro, this will provide a good opportunity for, for, for our countries, neighboring countries to maintain the, you
19:00know, start the, the, the, the fresh start and, and bring that to a new level.
19:04So, so, I think, uh, good days are, uh, there for bilateralization also.
19:09That's what I feel.
19:12Thank you, Mr. Cholagin.
19:13You have, uh, very clearly shown a lot of confidence in Balintia and his, uh, new government.
19:18You can, uh, your insights were extremely candid and, um, your insights, uh, on, uh, Nepal's historic transition and, uh,
19:29Balintia's victorious mandate will help, uh, viewers and people around the world, uh, change perspective post whatever happened in September
19:39of 2025.
19:40Thank you so much for joining us and speaking to us.
19:44Yeah.
19:45Thank you so much.
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