Ashutosh Basnet Exclusive: Infiltrators Fueled Violence, Gen Z Protesters Were Peaceful

In an exclusive conversation with Republic, Gen Z movement leader Ashutosh Basnet revealed that the recent protests were largely peaceful but were infiltrated by outside agitators. Speaking with Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanswamy, Basnet explained that corruption and years of political mismanagement sparked the youth uprising, which drew around 30,000 students outside Parliament on September 8. He emphasized that the movement was inspired by global youth protests, but the violence was orchestrated by a few masterminds, not the demonstrators themselves.