Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli will continue as the caretaker prime minister until the formation of new government in Nepal. But he neither appears to have a government to run nor a country to govern as agitating mobs have seized and torched all branches of the government.

“It has been specified, in accordance with Article 77 (3) of the Constitution of Nepal, that until another Council of Ministers is constituted, the same Council shall carry out the functions of government,” the President’s Office said in a statement, as per Republica newspaper.

Protesters on Tuesday torched all three branches of the government: the parliament, Singha Durbar (the seat of the Executive), and the Supreme Court. They also torched the Sheetal Niwas, the official presidential residence.

Mobs also attacked government buildings, politicians’ houses, and political parties’ offices throughout the day. They attacked private homes of several former prime ministers, such as Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Jhalanath Khanal.

In the attack on Khanal’s house, his wife, Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, was reportedly killed. In the attack on Deuba’s house, he and his wife, foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba, were assaulted. A video showed Deuba being dragged out of the house in a bloodied state. In another attack, three policemen were reportedly killed.

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Outside of Kathmandu, houses of provincial leaders and buildings of provincial governments were also attacked.

The all-round assault on every instrument of the state came a day after the police crackdown on protesters killed 19 persons and injured more than 400. They were protesting against the government’s corruption and the ban on 26 social media platforms. While the ban was the immediate trigger, the youth-led protest —dubbed the ‘Gen Z protest’— brought to fore years of frustration about the failure of the country’s leaders.

Since the abolition of the monarchy in 2008, Nepal has been plagued by political instability. No prime minister has completed a full term as government collapse prematurely from infighting in ruling coalitions. These weak governments have failed to address socioeconomic aspirations. The protests have also come at a time when a section of the Nepal has called for the reintroduction of the monarchy after being disillusioned with electoral democracy.

President calls for dialogue as rampage continues

Even as the rampage has continued across the country, Nepali President Ram Chandra Paudel has called for dialogue to come to a solution to the crisis. But continued violence suggests mobs are in no mood to join the state at the negotiating table yet.

“I urge all sides to remain calm, prevent further harm to the nation, and come to the table for talks. In a democracy, the demands raised by citizens can be addressed through dialogue and negotiation,” said Paudel, as per Himalayan Times newspaper.

In various parts of the country, jails have been broken and hundreds of prisoners have escaped, such as the Jaleshwar prison in Mahottari district, Solukhumbu Prison in Solukhumbu district, and Tulsipur Prison in Dang district.

In addition to the Supreme Court, the courts and police establishments elsewhere in the country have also been attacked, such as in Siraha district where the courthouse was torched.