Nepal PM resigns after coalition gov't collapses

By Deepak Adhikari
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AA) - Nepal's prime minister resigned Sunday, weeks after a key coalition partner walked out of the coalition government.
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli announced his resignation during an address to parliament, which had convened in Kathmandu for a no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition Nepali Congress and former coalition partner, Maoists.
On Sunday, two more coalition partners left the government, dealing a blow to Oli, who came to power nine months ago.
The Maoists, former rebels who waged a 10-year insurgency till 2006, withdrew support to the coalition government saying that past agreements were not implemented by the prime minister.
Maoist chairman Prachanda, with backing from Nepali Congress, the largest party in the parliament, is likely to head a new coalition government.
“The majority of lawmakers who voted for me for prime minister no longer support me. The post of prime minister is not my goal… Therefore, I want to inform the parliament that I have already tendered my resignation to the president to pave the way for a new government,” Oli said in a nationally televised speech in parliament.
In his 45-minute address, Oli highlighted his government’s overtures to China, Nepal’s northern neighbor with which he struck deals to open the country’s trade routes as an alternative to India, the main supplier to the landlocked country.
Nepal’s relations with India worsened under Oli, who provoked nationalist passions among Nepalis wary of their powerful neighbor. He accused India of imposing a five month blockade, a charge New Delhi denies.
In September, Nepal’s parliament promulgated the country’s post-war constitution but the charter triggered a wave of protests in the southern plains, in which over 50 people were killed.
The Madhesi people, who live along the border with India, opposed the new constitution, claiming it was discriminatory.