Jeevan Ram Shrestha ()( born 1965 December 30 ) is a Nepali

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who served as the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in the ruling coalition government led by Prime Minister and

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ; Abbreviation, abbr. NC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Nepal, political party in Nepal and the largest party in the country ...

President

Sher Bahadur Deuba Sher Bahadur Deuba (, ; born 13 June 1946, Ashigram, Kingdom of Nepal) is a Nepali politician and former prime minister of Nepal. He has also been serving as the president of the Nepali Congress since 2016. Deuba has served five terms as prime ...

. He is a member of the newly formed

Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) (), abbreviated as CPN (Unified Socialist) is a political party in Nepal led by former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. As of July 2023, the party leads Socialist Front (Nepal), Socialist Front a ...

. His political engagement started from his college life as a student leader at Saraswoti Campus in Lainchaur. Jeevan Ram Shrestha is the current elected president of Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC). He was an Ex-Secretary General of Nepal Olympic Committee. He has attended many events and actively made many plans on behalf of Nepal Olympic Committee. Jeevan Ram Shrestha is also the president of Nepal Ski Association. Jeevan Ram Shrestha grew up in a middle-class family in Kathmandu.

Controversy

Arrest of a security guard

In September 2022, the then Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation minister Shrestha, faced public criticism after a security guard working at Chhaya Center in

Thamel Thamel () is a commercial neighborhood located in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The name comes from Tha Bahi (थ: बहि), indicating its root origin to have come from the Newa community, the indigenous people of Kathmandu Valley. Tha Bahi ...

was arrested for asking Shrestha to remain in queue at a visa processing center. Shrestha had visited the visa center for biometric processing for his trip to Canada. According to the eyewitnesses, Shrestha felt humiliated and the heated exchanged soon ensued between the two. Soon after, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation wrote to the

Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

stating that the security guard had misbehaved with the minister. Upon the direction of the Home Affairs,

Nepal Police Nepal Police () is the national and primary law enforcement agency of Nepal. It is primarily responsible for maintaining law and order (politics), law and order, prevention of crime and crime investigation within the jurisdiction determined by ...

arrested the security guard, Sherjung Gurung and filed him for Indecent Behaviour under Clause 118 of the National Penal Code. The Kathmandu District Administration Office granted the police permission to keep Gurung in detention for five days for investigation. This sparked a outcry among the public as an

abuse of power Abuse of power or abuse of authority, in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official abuse of power", is the commission of an Crime, unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasan ...

by Minister Shrestha surfaced in the media. Soon after, Gurung's wife filed a writ in the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

that her husband had been wrongfully arrested and demanded his immediate release. After the widespread criticism, Gurung was released from custody, two days after the incident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrestha, Jeevan Ram 1965 births Living people Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) politicians Tribhuvan University alumni Nepal MPs 2017–2022 Nepal Communist Party (NCP) politicians Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) politicians