Nepal’s Home Affairs minister quits amid controversy over personal investments

Sudan Gurung is the second cabinet minister to leave within a month of the new government taking office. At the centre of the case are his holdings in insurance companies. The minister resigned to allow independent audits and avoid conflicts of interest. Prime Minister Balendra Shah is taking on the Home Affairs post until a new appointment is made, while the government emphasises its commitment to fighting corruption.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – Nepal's Home Affairs Minister, Sudan Gurung, has resigned less than a month after the cabinet led by Balendra Shah took office. This is the second departure from the cabinet, following the dismissal of the Minister of Labour on 9 April.

Gurung announced his decision via social media, citing the need to protect the integrity of his office and submit to an impartial investigation into his stock market investments.

The controversy arose following the publication of mandatory asset disclosures, which showed that he had shares in two micro-insurance companies, Star Micro Insurance and Liberty Micro Life. Both companies are linked to Deepak Bhatta, an entrepreneur under investigation for money laundering.

Although Gurung denies any irregularities, maintaining that these shares were part of a properly declared portfolio acquired before his appointment, pressure from public opinion and youth movements pushed him to step back to avoid a conflict of interest.

The figure of Sudan Gurung, a former activist and civil society leader, is closely linked to the Gen Z demonstrations that shook Nepal in September 2025, when thousands of young people took to the streets to protest corruption and the social media ban imposed by the previous government, leading to the fall of then Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.

Gurung, who had been minister since 27 March, had ordered the arrest of Oli and former minister Ramesh Lekhak, following the recommendations of an independent commission of inquiry into the violence in September that killed dozens of people due to the violent crackdown of protests.

Gurung's resignation represents a critical moment for Balendra Shah's government, which came to power with the promise of absolute transparency and a systemic fight against corruption.

The prime minister has temporarily taken charge of the Home Affairs ministry, reiterating his commitment to his 100-point reform plan, which includes vetting the assets of all public officials.

Shah, a 35-year-old rapper turned politician, heads the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). He was first elected to the post of mayor of Kathmandu, which helped him gain popularity.

Earlier this month, he dismissed Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Sah after the RSP ruled that he had abused the "dignity of his position” by getting ‌his wife appointed to the board of directors of the country’s Health Insurance Board

Nepal currently ranks 109th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, and the stability of the new government remains dependent on its ability to manage these losses without compromising the support it has gained from its young electoral base.

• nepal
• cabinet
• minister
• home affairs
• labour
• resignation
• dismissal
• balendra shah
• sudan gurung
• dipak kumar sah
• corruption
• transparency
• gen z protests