KATHMANDU — Faced with the intense pressure from Gen-Z protests that resulted in the death of 19 people, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned from his post on Tuesday afternoon. Oli submitted his resignation letter to President Ram Chandra Poudel, citing the abnormal situation in the country as protests intensified against his rule throughout the country.
In the resignation letter, Oli said he resigned from the post as per article 77 (1) of the constitution to pave the way for constitutional resolution of the current situation.
Oli was elected Prime Minister on July 14, 2024, as per a consensus reached with Nepali Congress, the largest party in the parliament.
Some reports indicated that Mayor Balen Shah could be appointed as an interim Prime Minister of the country.
As protests intensified on the second day following the killing of 19 protestors on Monday, the ruling coalition appeared to have fractured one after another with ministers particularly belonging to Nepali Congress resigning and putting further pressure on the government to quit.
General Secretaries of ruling Nepali Congress, Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma had earlier urged Prime Minister Oli to resign and pave the way forward.
Thapa and Sharma said in a statement that the relevance of the seven-point agreement reached between the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and Congress during the formation of the government was no longer valid.
It is not immediately clear what course Nepal’s politics would take now as all the lawmakers from the fourth largest party Rastriya Swatantra Party also resigned in masses demanding an interim government.
Enraged by the killing of so many people during the first day of the protests organised by the Gen-Z demanding accountability for corruption and social media ban, protestors throughout the country started to attack houses of leaders and government buildings.
On Tuesday, the protestors stormed into the parliament building at Baneshwor in Kathmandu and set the building on fire. The protestors had made unsuccessful attempts to damage the building even on Monday which led to strong police response leading to the death of several people.
They also entered the Singh Durbar, the main administrative centre of the Nepal government and torched the main gate.
The party headquarters of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) or CPN (UML) and Nepali Congress in the Kathmandu Valley were also defaced and set on fire.
Torching and vandalism in the government offices in many parts of the country have also been reported by the local media.
Similar cases of vandalism and torching were also reported in several government offices of the nation.
The authorities said that the situation in Kathmandu has remained tense as protests intensified in several parts of the valley despite the curfew imposed by the local administrations.
After Home Minister and Agriculture Minister, Minister for Health and Population Pradip Poudel and Minister for Youth and Sports Teju Lal Chaudhary also announced their resignation from their respective positions, expressing regret over the use of force against the Gen-Z protestors.
Videos of the torching of Prime Minister Oli’s house at Balakot in Kathmandu’s Bhaktapur also went viral on social media. The protestors also forcefully entered Singh Durbar, the main administrative centre of the government.
Chief District Officer at the Lalitpur District Administration Office, Suman Ghimire, said that the protestors torched the residence of former Prime Minister Dahal, and they were gathering before residences allocated for government ministers.
“The situation is tense as protests have erupted in different parts of the district,” he said.
Likewise, Bhaktapur district Chief District Officer Namaraj Ghimire said the situation has remained tense in the district.
“We have exercised maximum restraint and have not ordered to shoot at protestors,” he said.
The local media also reported the torching of the houses of former Prime Minister Deuba, President Ram Chandra Poudel’s house, and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak. –IANS
