Nepal Prime Minister resigns
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, June 30, IRNA -- Nepal's embattled Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Wednesday announced his resignation in a TV address to the nation to seek an end to the political impasse.
He succumbed to intense pressure from the opposition Maoists to make way for a "consensus" national government.
"I tender my resignation for the sake of consensus and to pave way for ending the ongoing political stalemate," he said while announcing his resignation, PTI reported.
The Maoists have been demanding his resignation for months and the formation a new national government led by them.
The Prime Minister, who resigned from the post after 13 months in power, said that he still commands majority in the parliament with the support from 22 political parties.
Nepal was catapulted into the job in May 2009 after the fall of the Maoist-led government in a row over the integration of the party's former fighters into the national army.
Nepal's parliament, or Constituent Assembly, was elected in 2008 with a two-year mandate to complete the peace process launched after the 10-year civil war between Maoist rebels and the state, and to draft a new national constitution.
But it has failed to complete either task on time, hampered by fierce disagreements between the Maoists and their political rivals.
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End News / IRNA / News Code 1205606
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