NABIN Student Union Senate Decides to End Role as Congress’ Affiliate, Will Uphold BP Koirala’s Principles

March 19, Kathmandu – The Nepal Students Union (NABIN), historically affiliated with the Nepali Congress, has resolved to operationally make its organization autonomous and no longer function as the party’s affiliate group. In a Senate meeting held this Friday, NABIN decided to cease being the party’s affiliate with the aim of becoming an independent organization moving forward.

NABIN spokesperson Suraj Sejuwal explained, “The autonomy we seek is operational. As an affiliate of the party, every decision had to be made under party directives, which hindered our ability to play an effective role in student movements. This constraint led us, during our empowered Senate meeting, to arrive at this decision.”

He further added, “Saying we will no longer be the Congress’ affiliate does not imply we are abandoning our faith in the party. We will not be detached from Congress; rather, we will uphold its core values and continue to follow the guiding principles established by BP Koirala.”

NABIN officials also voiced concerns about being unable to raise student movement issues and operate autonomously due to their role as the party’s affiliate organization.

Suraj Sejuwal elaborated, “Our conventions could not be held timely and automatically. Even forming committees required decisions from the party chairperson and the executive committee, which further weakened our position. To amend our constitution, we had to wait for the party’s approval. Therefore, our assessment is that NABIN was unable to be truly effective.”

He noted that NABIN also bore repercussions from Nepali Congress’s governance failures and inefficiencies, which negatively impacted the organization’s reputation. “Corruption by party leaders reflects on us as well, and we lacked opportunities to voice objections, which caused many of our commendable efforts to be overshadowed,” said Sejuwal. “Now, this decision has been taken so NABIN can boldly champion student and national issues.”

NABIN President Dujang Sherpa confirmed that lack of autonomy made it difficult to hold general conventions on schedule. He stated, “We want to build a dynamic organization, but the inability to act without party directives restricted our freedom. From an outside perspective, it appeared as though we did not want to hold conventions because submitting work schedules to the party led to refusals and constitution amendments being blocked. This is why we have decided on autonomy.”

Officials highlighted the necessity for NABIN, which carries the legacy of student politics, to operate independently at its core. “During the Panchayat regime, even when the party was banned, NABIN remained active, laying the foundation for democracy,” President Sherpa remarked. “Going forward, NABIN will advance as a movement.”