Two months after resigning over a property dispute, Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSWP) MP Sudhan Gurung has returned to the Home Ministry. Prime Minister Balendra Shah has returned Gurung to the Home Minister after the investigation committee led by former judge Achyut Prasad Bhandari submitted a report stating that Gurung's 'assets do not appear to be of an unnatural origin and cannot be disclosed'.

Gurung took the oath of office and secrecy from President Ram Chandra Poudel at 5:00 pm on Tuesday on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shah. He resigned on 9 Baisakh, citing an investigation after details of his investment in a company linked to controversial businessman Deepak Bhatt became public. While resigning, he had said that he wanted 'a fair investigation into matters related to him and that there should be no conflict of interest while in office'. The government had formed a committee headed by former Justice Bhandari, with Comptroller General Shobha Kant Poudel and Associate Attorney Achyutmani Neupane as members, to investigate the questions raised against him.

The cabinet meeting held on Tuesday decided to accept the report submitted by the committee stating that Gurung's 'direct relationship and financial transactions with businessman Bhatta could not be confirmed'. After that, Prime Minister Shah recommended to the President's Office to appoint him as the Home Minister.

The founder of Hami Nepal, Sudhan Gurung, who came to the fore after the Gen-G movement on 23 Bhadra, had ordered the arrest of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak on the evening of 13 Chaitra 2083, the same day he became the Home Minister. Nepal Police Chief IGP Dan Bahadur Karki was summoned and immediately after he gave this instruction, the then Armed Police Chief IGP Raju Aryal was also summoned.

Gurung had ordered their arrest to implement the report led by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki formed to investigate the incidents that took place on 23 and 24 Bhadra. Whereas, the IGP of the Armed Police Force, Aryal, himself had been recommended by the commission to investigate the criminal offense. Later, the cabinet meeting decided to form a separate investigation committee in the case of security personnel and move forward. And, Home Minister Gurung himself stayed at the police headquarters until Oli-Lehak was arrested. Then they were arrested in the wee hours of the morning.

Gurung had left the Home Ministry in just 26 days. However, until he became the Home Minister, he was seen as the busiest minister in the Balen-led cabinet. On the second day, after Oli-Lehak was arrested, he started inspecting various police units from the evening. UML leader Karna Bahadur Malla was arrested on charges of rape. UML Chairman Oli, who was protesting against his arrest, even made public a photo of himself sleeping in the ministry at night, from going to his residence to meet a senior citizen who had been mistreated.

During his first term, he used to make the details of all those arrested public on social media. When former minister Deepak Khadka was caught in the money laundering case, he made the arrest warrant public on his personal Facebook account. The Home Minister was criticized for making the details of the investigation public in this way.

The appointment of former Home Minister Gurung, who resigned after leaving the ministry vacant for so many months, to the ministry leading the country's internal security affairs, now shows that Prime Minister Balendra Shah is waiting for him for this ministry, says security expert Dr. Indra Adhikari. ‘It seems that Gurung is the only one among the majority of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) MPs for the Home Ministry,’ she told Kantipur. ‘The statements made by his friends and himself during the investigation also showed that he was returning to the Home Ministry.’ Even though Gurung left the Home Ministry, his personal secretary James Karki continued to work in the ministry.

Some security experts say that even if he returns to the ministry, his second innings will not be as easy. ‘It seemed that he did not reach ‘maturity’ in some tasks. He may have wanted to do a good job, but he seemed to be doing it in a hurry rather than following the rules and procedures,’ says retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Nepal Police, Hemanta Malla Thakuri. ‘The police are sometimes confused due to such orders, so we need to see how he conducts himself when he returns to the ministry for the second time.’

Home Minister Gurung had announced during his previous term that he would make the police uniforms more attractive. When IGP Dan Bahadur Karki said that he would prefer the uniforms to be 'black rather than blue', he said that he would focus on improving the uniforms. He had also announced to open a domestic clothing industry for the police. However, this time, the entire budget of the Home Ministry has decreased. In this case, he also faces the challenge of moving forward with the plans he announced in the past.

Nepal Police is still running on the basis of the 2012 Act. While various provinces have brought in the Provincial Police Act, the Nepal Police Act has not been brought in. Preparations were also underway to bring in a new Act for the Armed Police Force. In this case, the responsibility of bringing in the Acts of both police organizations has once again fallen on his shoulders.