Gen Z protest rocks Nepal: 20 killed, Home Minister quits as outrage spreads beyond Kathmandu

Nepal's Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned on Monday evening as nationwide Gen Z–led protests escalated into deadly clashes, leaving at least 20 people dead and more than 400 injured. Lekhak submitted his resignation to Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli during a Cabinet meeting at the prime minister's residence in Baluwatar, The Kathmandu Post reported. 

A minister present at the meeting said he stepped down on moral grounds after 20 people were killed in Kathmandu and two in Itahari when police opened fire on demonstrators. Lekhak, who took office on July 15, 2024, had earlier informed Congress leaders of his intention to resign after senior party figures Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma publicly demanded he take responsibility.

The resignation came hours after thousands of young protesters flooded Kathmandu in what has been dubbed the "Gen Z Revolution." Demonstrators carried placards declaring "Shut down corruption and not social media" and "Unban social media" as they clashed with security forces near Parliament. Police fired live rounds in several locations, triggering widespread casualties and political turmoil.

The protests began as an online campaign against the Oli government's move to ban 26 social media platforms but quickly evolved into a broader movement against corruption and misgovernance. "The protest is against the pent-up anger against misgovernance and corruption in the nation. The protest has evolved into a wider civil rights movement demanding accountability and change," said Suhana, an eyewitness in Kathmandu.

Curfews were imposed across the capital and in dozens of other cities, including Bhairahawa near the Indian border, as authorities struggled to contain unrest. The Nepal Army was deployed in Kathmandu to enforce order, according to a government spokesperson quoted by Reuters.

The National Human Rights Commission condemned what it called "excessive use of force by security forces during the youth-led protests against the ban on social media and political corruption."

Prime Minister Oli chaired a high-level National Security Council meeting late on Monday, joined by senior ministers, Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal and Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel, to assess the crisis.