No order to use force in the protest, claims former Home Minister Lekhak

Kathmandu, Dec 29: Outgoing Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has said that he did not give any written or verbal order to use force in the GenZ protests held on September 8 and 9.

Talking to the media today after recording his statement before the inquiry commission formed to investigate the damages caused during the GenZ protest, he said that the decision to use force or not is the responsibility of the security officials deployed at the time as per the law. “There is no legal provision for the minister or the prime minister to issue the order to use force,” he clarified.

Former Minister Lekhak informed the media that he submitted his views and details in writing to the commission.

According to former Minister Lekhak, a meeting of the Central Security Committee was called on September 7 after receiving prior information from the security agencies and the home administration about the demonstration of the GenZ group to be held a day later. The meeting analyzed the information collected by the security agencies and stated that the organizers had reported that the demonstration would be peaceful.

Clarifying that no decision or plan was made in the meeting regarding use of force, he said that it was concluded that law and security arrangements would be made by coordinating among all the security agencies. Former Home Minister Lekhak mentioned that formal discussions were held with the then Prime Minister in Baluwatar after the Central Security Committee meeting and that emphasis was placed on ensuring that there was no human casualties there as well.

Lekhak said that he resigned on the same day on moral grounds. "I considered it a moral duty to resign from my position after the death of persons," he said.

Minister Lekhak said that the incidents that took place after his resignation have seriously damaged the country's self-respect, democratic values, and constitutional institutions. He said that the damage to constitutional organs and public property of the state such as Singha Durbar, Rastrapati Bhawan, and Supreme Court was against the core spirit of the GenZ movement.

Informing about personal losses, former Home Minister Lekhak said that his two houses in Mahendranagar were destroyed in a fire, his residence in Kathmandu was damaged beyond habitability, and that a serious situation arose while trying to save his mother from an attack by protesters, and that his mother later passed away.