Nepal's Home Minister Sudan Gurung resigned on Wednesday, announcing his departure in an emotional Facebook post in Nepali, calling people's questions about his shareholdings as the reason behind his decision.
In his post, Gurung wrote: "I have been serving as Home Minister with honesty. In recent days, I have taken seriously the questions, comments and public concerns raised about my shareholding. For me, the bigger thing than position is ethics, and the bigger power than public trust is none."
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He added, "Therefore, with the goal that the investigation related to me be impartial and clean, and that there be no conflict of interest and no negative influence, I have submitted my resignation from the post of Home Minister effective today. I have fulfilled my ethical responsibility."
He ended with a rallying cry, "For my country, for the respect of our security forces, and for the youths of Nepal."
The controversy that forced Gurung out erupted after documents surfaced showing he holds shares in Star Micro Insurance and Liberty Micro Insurance — companies associated with businessperson Deepak Bhatt, who was arrested on April 1 and is under investigation for money laundering. The shares were not listed in Gurung's public asset declaration submitted on April 12, triggering accusations of concealment and conflict of interest.
Gurung had tried to defend himself, saying: "I would not hide Rs 2.5 million worth of shares when my total declared assets exceed Rs 20 million. This is simply a matter of classification." But the explanation failed to satisfy critics across the political spectrum.
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The Gen Z movement — whose protests Gurung himself had led — demanded his immediate dismissal, with spokesperson Vijay Shah arguing that his continuation in office was "a clear example of conflict of interest," adding: "This is not an ordinary government; it represents the mandate earned through the blood sacrifice of 76 martyrs."
The resignation is the second ministerial exit in weeks from an RSP government that came to power on promises of good governance and transparency. Labour Minister Deepak Kumar Sah had earlier lost his portfolio over a separate nepotism controversy. For Prime Minister Balen Shah, the back-to-back resignations represent a severe early test of a government Nepal's youth voted in to clean up politics — not replicate it.
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