It was the darkest day in the history of democratic Nepal. At least 19 people, mainly school and college-going youngsters, were shot dead during Monday’s anti-government protests in Kathmandu and across Nepal. Most of them were shot in their head or chest. Members of Gen Z who poured out on the streets of Nepal’s major cities had every right to protest against the anomalies in the society they call home. It was the state’s responsibility to properly manage these pre-sanctioned protests. Yet when the youngsters hit the streets, it appeared that the only way the government knew how to control the crowds was to use lethal force—in a protest led by school and college students in uniform. The onus for what happened on Monday lies with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

No, a massacre of Nepali youth on this scale can’t be explained away by blaming police incompetence, or by flagging a problem in the home minister’s chain of command. This calls for definite answers from the occupant of the highest executive office in the land. Oli has always been known for his acerbic ways and for a near-complete disregard of public opinion. Going by his statements in the past few days, it was clear that he didn’t even regard members of Gen Z as people who were worthy of being heard. Moreover, the scant police deployment on Monday suggested that the government did not expect a big turnout. Yet this was a dangerous presumption and a complete misreading of the youth sentiment. Even more so following the widely-flagged security failure during the March 28 pro-monarchy rally that led to two deaths and large-scale destruction—and in the same areas the protest happened in Kathmandu on Monday.

It is a sheer lack of accountability that is so galling. Even on Monday evening, as the death toll of young Nepalis mounted, the government was blaming ‘infiltrators’ for the casualties. Whether there were infiltrations—as seems likely—is something to be discussed another day. Right now, it bears repeating that the bulk of the blame for the tragedy falls on the prime minister. It was he who blocked the social media sites overnight, which directly resulted in the protests. It was Oli who provoked members of Gen Z by mocking their concerns. And it is under his watch that the police have mercilessly gunned down people. This time, there is no passing the buck. As the prime culprit in the killing of innocent citizens, there is no alternative but for him to resign. Only then can the reckoning for Monday’s crimes begin.