Nepal’s Home Minister Sudan Gurung resigned on Wednesday, less than a month after taking charge, following questions about his financial conduct.
“I have resigned from the post of home minister, effective from today, to ensure an impartial investigation into matters related to me and to ensure that no conflict of interest arises or affects the investigation process due to my office,” he said in a social media post.
Gurung has come under the scanner after the arrest of businessperson Deepak Bhatt on charges of money laundering.
There have been allegations of financial links between Gurung and Bhatt.
“For me, ethics is greater than position, and there is no greater force than public trust,” Gurung said. “The ongoing Gen Z movement in the country, which is demanding good governance, transparency and accountability, has also conveyed this message – that public life must be clean and leadership must be accountable.”
Gurung, a key figure in the youth-led protests in Nepal, was appointed home minister on March 27 after the Rashtriya Swatantra Party government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah was sworn in.
The September protests were sparked by the Nepali government’s ban on 26 social media platforms on September 4. Although the Oli government lifted the social media ban on September 8, the agitation had by then evolved into a broader protest against alleged corruption and misgovernance.
The demonstrations were described as a protest mainly by “Gen Z”, generally referring to persons born between the late 1990s and 2010.
Gurung’s resignation marked the second ministerial exit since the new government assumed office. On April 9, Labour Minister Deepak Kumar Sah was dismissed after the party’s disciplinary commission found that he had misused his office to allow his wife to continue as a member of the Health Insurance Board, The Kathmandu Post reported.
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