Nepal, Oct. 5 -- Yesterday, Gagan Kumar Thapa spoke at the 15th General Convention of the Nepali Congress held at Khula Manch. The party chair reflected on the political history of the venue and argued that an open public space as such is necessary for both the government led by the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the Parliament. This statement sparked a debate on social media platforms.

That debate intensified after Prime Minister Balendra Shah posted a sarcastic Facebook post later that same night, saying: "Thankfully, we made the Khula Manch good enough for the new party to hold a programme and criticise us!"

But Khula Manch did not open that day, nor during Shah's mayoralty of Kathmandu metropolis. The venue, as a historic...