Kathmandu, July 13

The eight ministers representing CPN-Maoist Centre today resigned from the coalition government led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Top Bahadur Rayamajhi handed the group resignation to Prime Minister Oli, on behalf of the CPN-MC. The resignations came following the party’s decision to pull out of the government.

The ministers who resigned are DPM Rayamajhi, Home Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel, Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation Agni Prasad Sapkota, Minister for Commerce and Supplies Ganesh Man Pun, Agricultural Minister Haribol Gajurel, Minister for General Administration Rekha Sharma and Irrigation Minister Umesh Kumar Yadav.

Earlier this morning, a meeting of CPN-MC’s Parliamentary Party had decided to call back all the ministers representing the party.

Meanwhile, Maoist Centre leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha has become unhappy with his party’s “hasty decision” to withdraw support to the government and criticised the party leadership for forging an alliance with the Nepali Congress to form a new government.

Shrestha, however, said PM Oli’s reluctance to implement the erstwhile ‘gentleman agreement’ to transfer the power to his party was the principal reason behind his party’s decision to quit the government.

Shrestha has also shared his displeasure regarding his party’s latest move with Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, it is learnt. Shrestha is said to have told Dahal that the Oli government had to go, but it should not have gone the way it is going.