KATHMANDU – Speaker in the Federal Parliament, Agni Prasad Sapkota, has praised former Prime Minister and supreme commander of people’s movement 2006-07, Girija Prasad Koirala as a state leader with far-sighted vision, strong willpower and resolve.
Late Koirala’s far-sighted vision was that he got his imagination of restoring the dissolved House of Representatives (HoR) in 2059 BS realised through the people’s movement. Speaker Sapkota was addressing the eighth anniversary of the GP Koirala Memorial Community College today in Chabahil.
“Reforms following the people’s movements have proved that Koirala was a successful commander with vision and courage. An airplane hijacking incident under his guidance that occurred during Panchayat regime has also proved his courage.”
On another context, the Speaker pledged his support to establish the college as a university while expressing the hope that the college would work as a model to hand over culture, custom and knowledge to new generations. He also expressed his hope that the recently restored HoR would be lively and accountable to the public.
On the occasion, parliamentarian and president of the college management committee, Bhimsen Das Pradhan informed that efforts were underway to develop the college as a university. President Bidya Devi Bhandari also pledged her support in this regard, he said.
Similarly, Nhuchhe Narayan Shrestha, president of the Public Account Committee in Bagmati Province and vice president of the college management committee, said a peace and democracy study centre would be established in the college where students would be encouraged to conduct a research on activities for the promotion of peace and democracy.
Nepali Congress Province Assembly parliamentary party chief whip Radha Ghale said youths should be encouraged to engage in research from student life so that they need not to toil in temperatures in the Gulf and the Arab states in the future. ”It is also necessary to make us free from the mechanism which as she said took pride in the economy largely backed by remittance send by such Nepali youth force in the Gulf and the Arab world.”
Former chair of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Taranath Dahal announced Rs 500 thousand monetary contribution on behalf of the Freedom Forum to a center for peace and democracy study to be established in the college. He pledged to support in the management of land for the GP Koirala University if it was to be established in Sindhupalchowk.
Educationist Prof Dr Bidyanath Koirala advised the college to give a focus on the revival of the Eastern philosophy. He was of the view that the college could be developed into a deemed university. Stating that Koirala had pursued his political career as a trade union leader and the leader of peasants, he urged the college to review what it had done for the people from such community.
On the occasion, a best wishes message from Sujata Koirala, daughter of the late Koirala and former Deputy prime minister, was read out. The college had established on March 20, 2013 and there were 11 students in its first batch of class and now the number of students stands at 3,000, according to campus officiating chief Shiva Prasad Adhikari.
It presently offers Bachelor’s and Master’s degree classes in the management and education faculties and plans to launch the classes under the Faculty of Humanities from the upcoming academic session. On the occasion, the outstanding students in different levels were honoured.
