It started with a hit-and-run. A car that belonged to the Koshi province finance minister, a leader from the deposed Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli’s party, knocked down an 11-year-old girl and sped off. The driver was taken into custody later but then released within 24 hours. Oli called it a minor incident and said that compensation would be paid. And that was that.

The incident took place in broad daylight. The visual of the dazed girl, slowly standing up and running to safety, went viral on social media platforms. “Gen Z” protestors would take note. They shared the footage on social media platforms, projecting Oli and his party leaders as an insensitive and self-centred bunch. Only a few days earlier, a similar incident had taken place in Indonesia, where protests over members of parliament awarding themselves a $3,000-monthly housing allowance boiled over when a government vehicle ran over a delivery man. Though Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto rescinded the decision after nationwide protests, the damage was done. Like it was in Nepal. Nepali youth, tech-savvy and with a worldview of their own, anyway held a dim view of the three major political parties — the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)-UML, Nepali Congress, and CPN (Maoist) — and were outraged. They let it be known.

The old-party leaders and the luxurious lifestyle of their children and grandchildren have been under intense public........

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