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Kathmandu, Dec 30: Former home minister Ramesh Lekhak told the Gen G protest probe committee on Monday that he accepted moral responsibility for the September 8 and 9 incidents, which left several young people dead and many injured. He said the scale of loss shook him deeply and forced him to step down.

In his written submission, Lekhak said his conscience did not allow him to remain in office after the violence. He recalled that the deaths of young protesters and the injuries to many others left him broken inside. Faced with that reality, he chose to resign at once, taking responsibility as the minister in charge of internal security. He said his resignation letter made it clear that he was quitting on moral grounds, which he described as the highest value in public life.

Lekhak also spoke about his personal losses but said he kept them in the background at the time. His house was set on fire, and his elderly, sick mother died soon after. He said the pain of losing ancestral property was severe, but when the country itself was in turmoil, he felt his own suffering mattered less.

After appearing before the committee, Lekhak shared details with reporters about his mother’s death. He said she was critically ill and depended on oxygen. During the protests, his family had to hide her for safety, and she was left without oxygen for hours. By the time she was taken to hospital, she had developed pneumonia and died a few days later.

Lekhak said two of his houses in Mahendranagar were destroyed, and his Kathmandu home became unlivable. He also lost rare notes, official papers, and around 5,000 books collected during the peace talks and constitution drafting period.

He stressed that he never ordered security forces to use force. He said he instructed them to avoid casualties, maintain order through coordination, and stay alert against infiltration. While he agreed that the Gen Z protesters raised valid demands, he claimed anti-democratic groups took over the movement and pushed it toward violence.

People’s News Monitoring Service