NEW DELHI: Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli has resigned on Tuesday amid deadly anti-corruption protests as chaos on streets.
Hundreds took to the streets shouting slogans about corruption in the administration, including allegations of nepotism, i.e., unfair advantages for the children of those in powerful positions.
This came after two days of violent protests killed 19 peopleProtests led by Gen Z – which began over a ban on social media – targeted corruption and demanded that he resign. Protesters set fire to government buildings, including the private homes of Mr Oli and President RC Poudel.
“The PM has quit,” his aide Prakash Silwal told Reuters. Visuals showed Mr Oli leaving Kathmandu in a military helicopter.
Earlier Tuesday Mr Oli chaired a meeting of all Nepalise political parties, and said ‘violence is not in the interest of the nation’. We have to ensure a peaceful dialogue to find solutions to this problem, he said.
Mr Oli’s resignation was a core demand of the Gen Z protesters.
In Nepal, however, the Prime Minister standing down does not automatically mean the government has fallen. Mr Oli was the head of the executive in the Himalyan nation but it is President Ram Chandra Poudel who is the head of the governemnt. Sources, though, told NDTV, it is only a matter of time before Mr Poudel also steps down and the government is fully overthrown.
For now, the fate of the Nepali government is unclear.
Nepal ministers quit as they say “not possible to stand with the government.”
Nepal Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung on Tuesday said Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli will not resign, even as massive protests – initially over a ban on social media apps followed by corruption – continued to rock Kathmandu for a second consecutive day, and a few ministers pulled out from the Cabinet.
Mr Oli, however, succumbed to pressure from the protesters and resigned later in the day.
Demanding Mr Oli’s resignation, protesters defied curbs on public gatherings and reportedly burnt tyres to block roads from the early hours of the morning in Kalanki. The protesters shouted slogans such as “KP Chor, Desh Chhod” (K P Sharma Oli is a thief, quit the country), “Take action against corrupt leaders”. The agitators targeted the residences of President Ram Chandra Poudel and targeted several houses of ministers, including Mr Gurung.
Several Cabinet ministers, however, either quit or announced their intention to resign, citing the government’s ignorance towards the protesters’ grievances. There are 25 ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Nepal Cabinet.
Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, who represented the Nepali Congress party in the coalition government, resigned on moral grounds following the deadly clashes on Monday.
On Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Ramnath Adhikari stepped down from his post. Health Minister Pradeep Paudel told NDTV he will also resign since “it is not possible to remain in the government under such circumstances”.
Similarly, Youth and Sports Minister Teju Lal Chaudhary, and Water Minister Pradeep Yadav also resigned. Mr Chaudhary told NDTV the government was aware of the youth’s grievances but chose to ignore. Legislator Asim Shah also quit his post. Congress leader Shekhar Koirala has instructed his close ministers to resign, the sources said.
Earlier in the day, the Kathmandu District Administration Office had announced a curfew from 8:30 am until further notice in the capital city. Authorities enforced curfews across Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts.
Twenty-six social media sites were banned on Friday over their failure to register with the government. On Monday, massive protests rocked Kathmandu as thousands of youths, including school students, under the banner of ‘Gen Z’, staged a massive protest in front of the Parliament and shouted anti-government slogans demanding immediate revocation of the ban.
