Nepal’s Home Affairs Minister Sudan Gurung resigned from his post on Wednesday, saying he was leaving the post to ensure an “impartial investigation” into his financial affairs.
He is the second minister to lose his post in the new government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, since the former rapper and Kathmandu mayor won the election last month amid anti-corruption youth protests that toppled the previous government.
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Gurung said that he “took seriously” public questions and comments regarding his stock market investments and other financial issues. The 38-year-old said he was stepping down from his role as interior minister to ensure a fair investigation and avoid conflict of interest.
“For me, morality is greater than position and there is no greater power than public trust,” Gurung wrote on Facebook. “Today, the Gen Z movement rising in the country demanding good governance, transparency and accountability has given the same message.”
Gurung came into limelight during the so-called Gen Z protests and then after becoming the interior minister, in which he played a central role.
Soon after his appointment, he ordered the arrest of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his predecessor Home Minister Ramesh Lehchak for their roles in the security forces’ crackdown on protesters, which resulted in 46 deaths.
“If anyone questions a government built on the blood and sacrifice of my 46 brothers and sisters, the answer is morality,” Gurung said in Wednesday’s statement.
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Deepa Dahal, an aide to new Prime Minister Balendra Shah, told Reuters news agency that Gurung had submitted his resignation to the prime minister, “who will now handle the Home Ministry.”
Shah, 35, became prime minister when his three-year-old Rashtriya Swatantra party, which has promised to control corruption and provide good governance and transparency, won comfortably in last month’s parliamentary election, claiming 182 of the 275 available seats.
The former rapper had gained popularity for his reforms during his three-year tenure as mayor of the capital Kathmandu.
Earlier this month, Shah had sacked his Labor Minister Deepak Kumar Shah, saying he had misused the “dignity of his position” to get his wife appointed as a member of the board of directors of the Health Insurance Board.
Edited by: Alex Berry