Under pressure not only from opposition parties but from detractors in his own party, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala announced his resignation Thursday.
Prime Minister Koirala, in his address to the nation over Radio Nepal and Nepal Television, said, ” I decided to resign to protect democracy, solve national problems and maintain unity within my own party”. Koirala said that both extreme rightists and extreme leftists have unleashed an attack against democracy and the nation and added that it was the duty of all political parties that have faith in democracy to be united and collectively counter such ulterior motives. The Maoist violence is targeted against democracy, he said and condemned it.
Prime Minister highly praised the role of police and army in the fight against violence and terrorism. “I put forth a 14-point agenda for national consensus, which reflect the feelings and pains of all political parties that went to power in the last 12 years,” he said. He said, “My responsibility at present is to protect the parliamentary democracy and maintain unity in my own party”.
He said that democracy and nation are more important for him than the post of Prime Minister. He also accused the opposition parties for trying to destroy the system by forcibly blocking the proceedings of parliament and also charged some people in the Nepali Congress itself of supporting it.
Opposition parties and some of his opponents within his own party had been demanding his resignation. They had accused the Prime Minister of failing to maintain law and order, give a good leadership to the nation and solve the Maoist insurgency and other burning problems of the nation. Koirala had come to power May 2000.