KATHMANDU, Oct 10: Outgoing Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has rejected allegations that he or then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli instructed security forces to open fire during the Gen Z protests of September 8 and 9.
Speaking to reporters at the Nepali Congress central office in Sanepa on Friday, Lekhak said neither the prime minister nor the home minister had directed security agencies to use lethal force against demonstrators.
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“Questions have been raised about whether the prime minister or the home minister gave such an order. I want to clarify that no such directive was issued,” Lekhak said in his first public remarks since the incident.
Lekhak said he was deeply distressed by the violence on the first day of the protests, which prompted his resignation. “My heart was wrenched—it was an utterly saddening moment. That is why I resigned from my post immediately after the incident,” he said.
He also reiterated his claim that the protests had been infiltrated, which, he argued, turned an otherwise peaceful youth-led demonstration into violence. “The issue of infiltration was not raised by me alone—the organizers themselves had acknowledged it,” he said. “That later proved to be true, which ultimately led to the tragic events.”
