Kathmandu, September 4
Home Minister Sudan Gurung has responded to criticism over his physical presence in disaster management and the functioning of the state. Gurung said those who expect the old style of leadership, in which leaders remain seated in their offices holding documents, are “living in the wrong era,” describing the criticism as a “generation gap.”
In a statement posted on social media on Friday, Gurung clarified that the Disaster Response Command Center is fully operational with the participation of senior officials from the relevant ministries. “If you view leadership in the old way, associating it with sitting in a ministerial chair and holding documents, then you are in the wrong era—a generation gap,” he wrote.
He added, “The Disaster Response Command Center is fully operational with the participation of senior officials from the relevant ministries, so there is no need to worry. We are conducting command operations and strategic meetings online every four hours.” Gurung criticised the traditional working style, saying the country had suffered for years from the consequences of leadership from behind a desk without understanding the realities on the ground. “I am surprised to see some people still pressuring us to adopt the same old approach while expecting different and better results,” he wrote.
He claimed that the use of digital platforms has made administrative and rescue operations much faster and more effective than conducting them from behind a desk. Addressing his critics, he said, “Rather than worrying about where I am, I would like to request that you focus on the results.”
His clarification comes amid questions from some political circles and on social media about his working style and physical presence during the response to the Bhotekoshi flood in Rasuwa and the subsequent rescue operations.
