Nepal’s Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has resigned following the deaths of 19 people during youth-led “Gen Z” protests, The Kathmandu Post reported. Lekhak tendered his resignation to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli during a Cabinet meeting at the prime minister’s residence in Baluwatar on Monday evening, according to the report. A minister who attended the meeting told The Kathmandu Post that Lekhak stepped down “on moral grounds” after 17 people were killed in Kathmandu and two in Itahari, while more than 400 were injured in Monday’s unrest. Earlier in the day, Nepali Congress leaders Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma had called for his resignation at a party meeting. Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba did not comment, but Lekhak informed colleagues of his decision before going to the Cabinet session, the newspaper said. Lekhak had been serving as Home Minister since July 2024. The protests, led by young people demanding reforms and accountability, spread across major cities, with police opening fire on demonstrators in Kathmandu and other urban centres, according to The Kathmandu Post.
