A viral video on TikTok claims that Gagan Thapa, the General Secretary of the ruling Nepali Congress, criticized Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ after the latter’s controversial actions under the banner of Nepali Congress.
The video–posted on March 24, 2023 by TikTok user @gaganvision–shows Gagan Thapa saying:
What is the government trying to say? You speak only what I want to hear. You see only what I want to show. You listen to only what I want to say. The boundary of your freedom doesn’t extend beyond the zero I have drawn. Do you know who I am? I am the government. The government I am. I am your government
gagan thapa
The 19-second video includes a short clip showing Prime Minister Dahal along with a photo of the policemen covering the mouth of a protester. The viral clip’s caption reads: “The general secretary (Gagan Thapa) roared after Prachanda made controversial moves under the Congress banner.” The video has garnered more than 6,000 likes and 140,000 views.
Did Congress general secretary Gagan Thapa criticize prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ after the latter’s controversial actions under the banner of Nepali Congress?
What was the context?
On March 21, 2023, during the 58th International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination event in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, three young men protested against Prime Minister Dahal by chanting slogans. The police intervened and silenced the protestors. A viral photo shows police forcibly shutting the mouth of one of the young men during the incident. Following the incident, Prime Minister Dahal faced criticism from various sectors of society.
The viral TikTok video features the House of Representatives’ logo, indicating that it may be Gagan Thapa’s speech from a parliamentary session. To verify this, we checked if any parliamentary sessions were held after March 24, 2023. Although there were two sessions on March 26 and 29, which followed Prime Minister Dahal’s vote of confidence on March 20, the video was posted on March 24, 2023. There is no link between protestors chanting slogans against Prime Minister Dahal and the viral video of Gagan Thapa’s speech.
So where does Thapa’s speech come from?
After conducting a Google search using Nepali-language keywords, we came across a news article published on June 16, 2019, by Setopati. The article featured a video in which Gagan Thapa can be seen criticising the government during a session of the House of Representatives. As per the report, Thapa quoted a poem by Brajesh Khanal during the meeting.
We also located the video of the Parliament meeting, where Gagan Thapa can be seen speaking out against the Information Technology Bill proposed by the then KP Sharma Oli-led government. Thapa argued that the Bill would limit freedom of expression.
Speaking in the Parliament, Thapa said:
If we look at all the bills including the Information Technology Bill, Media Council Bill, what is the intention of the government, Honourable Speaker? What is the government trying to say? You speak only what I want to hear. You see only what I want to show. You listen to only what I want to say. The boundary of your freedom doesn’t extend beyond the zero I have drawn. Do you know who I am? I am the government. The government I am. I am your government. The government intention is clear as expressed by Brajesh Khanal, Honourable Speaker.
gagan thapa
We conducted a Google search using the keywords “Brajesh Khanal Poem Gagan Thapa Parliament” [in Nepali] and came across a news report published on Nepal Live on June 16, 2019. According to the report, during a Parliament meeting on June 16, 2019, opposition lawmaker Gagan Thapa opposed the Information Technology Bill and the Media Council Bill, tabled by the KP Sharma Oli-led government. Thapa argued that these bills would curtail freedom of expression. The news report cited a poem tweeted by writer Brajesh Khanal on June 12, 2019, which Thapa had quoted during the meeting.
The viral video links Thapa’s Parliament speech from four years ago to the March 21, 2023, protest in Kathmandu, where police silenced protesters chanting slogans against Prime Minister Dahal. However, it is essential to note that Thapa’s speech from four years ago was taken out of context.
Therefore, the claim that Gagan Thapa, Nepali Congress’ general secretary and now a ruling partner, criticized Prime Minister Dahal’s controversial actions under the banner of Nepali Congress, lacks context. By removing the original context of Thapa’s speech, it has been used in the wrong way.
| Claim | Claimed by | Nepal Check verdict |
| Gagan Thapa, the General Secretary of Nepali Congress, criticized Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal for his controversial actions under the banner of Nepali Congress. | TikTok Users | Missing Context |
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