KP Sharma Oli resigned as prime minister on Sunday evening moments before the scheduled voting on a no-confidence motion which he was certain to lose.

With his resignation, deliberations on the no-trust motion also concluded on Sunday and the proposal, registered in Parliament on July 13, was withdrawn.

Oli announced his resignation at the end of his 110-minute-long address to Parliament.

Earlier in the day, he had tendered his resignation to President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and his Cabinet had recommended President Bhandari to invoke Article 305 of the Constitution of Nepal to “remove difficulties”.

In his address to the House , Oli insisted that he “is not the kind of prime minister who wished to cling on to power after losing majority in Parliament”.  But he argued that the manner in which his government was toppled was “unprincipled and unwarranted”.

His resignation was immediately approved by President Bhandari and was communicated to the House. 

The approval from the President has opened the door for the formation of new government under the leadership of CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal with the support of the Nepali Congress and Madhes-based parties under the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha.

Oli became the 38th prime minister of the country on October 11 last year, weeks after the promulgation of the constitution, with the support of 338 lawmakers and the Maoist party as his key ally.

A decision of the CPN (Maoist Centre) to pull out of the coalition on July 12 had left the Oli government  without a majority in Parliament.

Oli, in his characteristic style, made some tongue-in-cheek remarks targeting his former coalition partner, the Maoist Centre, and the Madhesi Morcha, which had so far been boycotting the House proceedings.

“People who didn’t believe in parliamentary system are practising it well and parties that had opposed the constitution have also taken part in this process under this very constitution,” said Oli.

Responding to Dahal’s remarks that PM Oli had “moved unilaterally”, Oli said “it is an immoral claim as Dahal was leading the High Level Political Mechanism which had the authority to guide the government in its activities”. Stating that UML leader Manmohan Adhikari was forced to quit from the hospital bed, Oli claimed that the “forces that do not want the country’s stability

and prosperity conspired against me”.

 “The country had plunged into a crisis due to a blockade and protests by the Madhesis when I took up the government leadership,” he said. “In the last nine months, the crisis has ended largely, reconstruction works have gained pace and many programmes have started taking the country towards prosperity.”

Describing his visits to two neighbouring countries as historic, Oli said the transit and transportation treaty reached with China will lessen Nepal’s dependency on India. He, however, claimed that relations with the two neighbouring countries are distinct which cannot be compared with each other. “The relationships with both the countries have become better after my visits,” he said.

With his voice heavy with sarcasm, Oli said, “It will be interesting to see how the relationship between the two parties (NC and Maoist Centre), which were once political enemies, evolves.” 

He said he would also keep a close eye on how the next government would take the Kathmandu Nijgadh fast-track, Kerung-Kathmandu-Lumbini railway project and post-quake reconstruction forward.

Quote, unquote

• I am not the kind of prime minister who wishes to cling on to power even after losing majority in Parliament
• The manner in which my government has been toppled is unprincipled and unwarranted
• People [the Maoist Party] who didn’t believe in parliamentary system are practising it well and parties [Madhesi Morcha] that had opposed the constitution have also taken part in this process under this very constitution
• [Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s] claim that I moved unilaterally is immoral, as he was leading the High Level Political Mechanism which had the authority to guide the government in its activities
• It will be interesting to see how the relationship between the two parties (NC and Maoist Centre), which were once political enemies, evolves 
• My visits to two neighbouring countries were historic. Relations with the two neighbouring countries are distinct which cannot be compared with each other. The relationships with both the countries have become better after my visits

What next

KATHMANDU: With the resignation of KP Sharma Oli as the prime minister on Sunday, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will call on parties to form a consensus government within seven days. The President has already approved the resignation of PM Oli and asked the government to continue as a caretaker government until a new one is formed. According to Nepali Congress lawmaker Ramesh Lekhak, President Bhandari will call on the political parties to form a new government based on consensus in seven days. “After seven days, the President will again ask parties to form a majority government,” said Lekhak. “However, we will try our best to form a government based on consensus.” The Nepali Congress and the CPN (Maoist Centre) have already agreed to form a new government under Maoist Centre Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal. (PR)