As ministers were being appointed to the interim government led by Sushila Karki, one of the concerns of Gen-G activists was, "Is there representation of Gen-G ministers in the government?"

Addressing the same question, Prime Minister Karki appointed 28-year-old Bablu Gupta as the Minister of Youth and Sports on Sunday. He is also the youngest member of the cabinet. 

Since the formation of the interim government led by Karki, Gupta's name has been recommended and rejected as a minister. He himself was in the running to become a minister. Soon after his appointment as a minister, various criticisms have started coming against him. Some are praising his past work on social media, while others are making various allegations.

He was in the news for his social work

Bablu is the founder of the charitable group '100 Group'. Through the same group, Bablu has been doing various social work. He came into the news for his campaign to provide free food during the cloth bank and the Covid-19 pandemic. The '100 Group' has 80-90 active members. They were deployed in the field to help those injured in the earthquake, Covid or Gen-G movement.

Born in Lahan, Siraha, Bablu studied in Kathmandu. He has been active in social work for a decade. When an elderly man was hit by a car in Kathmandu while he was studying Plus Two, Bablu and his friends helped him by taking him to the hospital in time. After that incident, Bablu actively started social work. After that, his group played an active role in activities such as blood donation for the sick, rescuing those who were cheated or trapped in the name of foreign employment.

Then, he established a cloth bank and helped the common people who did not have clothes. Those who wanted to help in the cloth bank would put their clothes. Those in need would select clothes from the bank and wear them. ‘100 Group’ also distributed old but usable clothes in various places in Kalikot, Jumla and the Terai.

Initially, they raised money from their friends to educate poor students. Later, they educated many students for free through a campaign called ‘Project Shiksha’. They rented two ropanis of land in Guhyeshwori and built a Kuruwa house. ‘100 Group’ is also providing free college education to 110 students, including food and accommodation.

During the Covid pandemic, when many people were hungry, ‘100 Group’ used to provide free food at Ratna Park. Bablu registered ‘100 Group’ only in 2022. Even when an earthquake hit Jajarkot two years ago, the group helped with clothes, food, and building school buildings. At that time, Bablu’s group stayed in Jajarkot for three months and worked on building school buildings in collaboration with Ncell.

Bablu also takes to the streets in various protests. From the Nirmala Pant murder case to the sugarcane farmers’ protest, he was on the streets. On 2 Asoj 2077, Bablu was severely beaten up during a demonstration at his home demanding the reappointment of Kulman Ghising as the Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority. He was even injured at that time. The video of him being beaten up went viral at the time. Bablu was also at the forefront of the Gen-G exhibition held on 23 and 24 Bhadra. His organization '100 Group' had arranged water and vehicles for the protest. After the government closed social media including Facebook, they collaborated with 'Hami Nepal' to prepare for the protest. They also provided various financial and food assistance to the injured in the protest, from blood donations to various financial and food assistance.

But not free from controversy

Despite creating a positive image through social work, Bablu is not free from controversy. He has also been accused of being a 'hired agitator'. Since his appointment as a minister, there has been no shortage of people raising questions about him on social media. In Mangsir 2078, he was drawn into controversy when he protested in favor of the then Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Jabra. At that time, Jabra, who was being accused of trying to join the Sher Bahadur Deuba government, had himself become controversial. Gupta was accused of protesting in favor of Jabra by taking money from the Nepal Bar Association during the protest demanding Cholendra's resignation. He has denied the allegations. He said that he staged the protest demanding that the Supreme Court be open so that judicial work is not blocked.

Soon after Bablu was appointed as a minister, Januka Pathak, also known as Shobha Pathak, has accused him of making various threats to her, saying that she would do anything for money. Pathak's allegations made through a YouTube channel have now gone viral on social media. Pathak also alleges that Bablu, along with UML leader Mahesh Basnet, threatened to file a case against Durga Prasai. 'I did not know Bablu Gupta directly. If I die, if I am killed, Durga Prasai will be arrested and put in jail. That recording was made by Bablu Gupta himself. At that time, the photo of our bed was made public...,' she said.

Gupta, however, has not commented on the allegations against him. When contacted by Kantipur, he did not want to say anything about the allegations. He said that he would not immediately respond to the allegations made on social media, but would prove it by working and showing results.

Questions about the financial resources of social work

Where did Gupta raise financial resources for his social work? Various questions have also started to arise about this. In a conversation with Kantipurkarmi a month ago, he had said that when he started serving food at Ratna Park during Covid, he had 1,500 rupees. ‘Initially, it was 1,500 rupees. 1500 people came. We started cooking food in an empty land in Anamnagar. Gradually, donors started helping a little bit,’ he had said, ‘Every morning, we would ask how to raise food. But some people would come to help.’