Former home minister Ramesh Lekhak has described the violent incidents that occurred on September 9 as events contrary to the spirit of the Gen Z movement.
Speaking at a press conference after giving his statement to the inquiry commission formed to investigate the incidents of September 8 and 9, Lekhak claimed that infiltration had taken place during the events of September 9.
"The violent incidents that occurred on September 9 following my resignation – attacks against our national existence, dignity, and democracy – were beyond what any patriotic Nepali could imagine. I cannot imagine that any Nepali heart would dare to burn down the nation’s key institutions, including Singha Durbar, the Supreme Court, Parliament building, and the President’s Office, along with all three organs of the state – the executive, judiciary, and legislature,” he said.
He said that the attacks on representative institutions of democracy were completely outside the thinking and planning of Gen Z.
"This was a planned conspiracy. It is my assessment that this was a deliberate attack on the nation and democracy," he said. "Across the country, government offices, police stations, offices of various political parties, business and commercial establishments, and selectively targeted private properties of individuals were set on fire and reduced to ashes. Never in Nepal's history has such massive damage occurred in a single day."
"I see no basis to claim that this simultaneous destruction across the country was merely the result of anger and impulse arising from the events at the time. The truth and facts will gradually emerge in the future. Premeditated attacks, vandalism, and arson carried out in a planned manner cannot be the result of momentary rage or impulse. No governance system can move forward in the future destroying invaluable and important state records and turning national structures into ruins. Therefore, my mind cannot accept that those attacks were not planned and premeditated," he said.
Lekhak argued that attributing the tragic events that occurred due to infiltration into the good intentions of Gen Z and the attacks on the state's historic and priceless structures to momentary impulse would be an injustice to the youth with pure sentiments.
"Therefore, I believe the events of September 9 must be viewed separately from the demands of the youth, and anyone involved in criminal acts should be punished. The commission also needs to investigate in great detail who infiltrated the protests and how. I trust that the commission will examine this issue seriously for both the present and the future," he said.
