I will not resign: PM

Photo: RSS

Prime Minister KP Oli on Thursday said he is under pressure to step down but he will not.

At a public event in Kathmandu, PM Oli said: "I am being bullied. I am being threatened. But I am not the person who is afraid of these things. I will not resign."

He added: "I was not born as a PM. I became PM because of my contribution to Nepal and its people. And I do not want to stay put for ever. I will step down if my resignation would solve the problem facing the country. But I will not resign just because someone wants my chair."

Last month, the Oli government had nearly collapsed after the ruling UML's main coalition partner, the Maoists, threatened to pull the rug. The Maoist Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal had reached an understanding with the main opposition NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba to withdraw support to the Oli government and form a new coalition.

But Oli outsmart Deuba by persuading Dahal to not ditch him. To save his government, he signed the controversial nine-point agreement with Dahal, drawing criticism from human rights activists and war victims for disregarding principles of transitional justice.

The Maoists say they abstained from filing a no confidence motion against the government in May not because of the nine-point agreement, but because of a gentlemen's agreement that required Oli to resign and support Dahal to become the new PM after last week's budget.

But Oli denies any gentlemen's agreement with Dahal. On Thursday, he said: "When and where did I agree to resign? Don’t ask me to resign. My shoulders are still pretty strong to carry the country forward."