Chosen by the protesters led by Gen-Z groups to become Nepal's interim leader after the violent fall of KP Sharma Oli's government, Sushila Karki, 73, has said she is in place only until elections are held for wider changes.
The first woman to hold the PM's post in Nepal, Karki said she would form “a government of short time for the purpose of doing election”, giving a timeline of at least six months.
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“Our target is to hold an election. Then we will hand over to the coming political leaders. This is the first purpose. We will not get more than six months or a year. We will try to do as much as possible. We will try to have a fair election," she told News18 when she was initially picked as the leader, before two more days of talks led to a final call on Friday.
She further said, "We can't tell anyone not to fight the election. The old leaders can come. The young generation can come."
{{/usCountry}}She further said, "We can't tell anyone not to fight the election. The old leaders can come. The young generation can come."
{{/usCountry}}She added, “But the thing is that we won't stay for long. After all, I'm a judge. I don't know politics, you know. I worked 40 years as a lawyer, 31 years as a lawyer; and 10 years I worked as a judge. I do not have political knowledge."
Karki recalled how many changes she has seen: “I was born in 1952. Since then, I have seen the movement of 1960 in Nepal. And also in 1990s, And again the movement in 2006… This time also… We would try to solve the problem unitedly. We would do hard work with these young boys and girls and students. We will try to establish a new environment. That is only our effort.”
As for her immediate focus, she spoke of justice for the “boys and girls who died in the movement”. The protest have claimed more than 30 lives. “We have to do something for [them] and their parents, who are very much in misery on the demise of their children,” she said.
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She added that KP Sharma Oli's resignation as PM was only one of the demands met.
“The next is that they want to remove corruption from the country. There are other things, many things, but that can be successful only in that position when there will be a government.”
Asked about her anti-corruption stance and her expectations to restore order amid anarchy, she said it was “miserable” that key files in buildings of the parliament and even the Supreme Court had been burnt. “The situation is tough, you know… But we would do hard work with these young boys and girls and students, with young people.”
She said the situation on the streets of Nepal has calmed now. “The army has handled it very well,” she said.
On who will be in her team, she said on Wednesday, “I think there will be no one from politics.”