India, Dec. 30 -- Nepal's former home minister Ramesh Lekhak on Monday claimed that the vandalism and arson on the second day of the Gen Z protests was the result of "a planned conspiracy against democracy and the nation." On September 8 and 9, the youth-led Gen Z protest against corruption, nepotism, and a social media ban escalated into violence, leading to the ouster of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's coalition Government.

A total of 77 people, including 22 youths, were killed during the Gen Z movement. Lekhak, who appeared on Monday before a high-level probe commission investigating the Gen Z protests, said that he accepted full moral responsibility for the deaths and other losses of September 8.

However, he claimed that the vandalis...