Kathmandu, Dec. 29 -- Former home minister Ramesh Lekhak has said that he accepted full moral responsibility for the deaths and other losses of September 8 and therefore resigned accordingly. He, however, claimed that the incidents of September 9 were not a spontaneous escalation but a planned conspiracy against the nation and democracy.

Testifying before the commission investigating the incidents of September 8-9 Gen Z protests, Lekhak said he had stepped down immediately after the September 8 tragedy because, as the political head of the home ministry, he felt a deep personal and institutional responsibility.

However, Lekhak drew a sharp distinction between the peaceful Gen Z protest of September 8-which, according to him, was later i...