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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Nepal PM quits in army chief row | Nepal PM quits in army chief row |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Maoist Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has dramatically announced his resignation in a television address to the nation. | The Maoist Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has dramatically announced his resignation in a television address to the nation. |
| "I have resigned from the post of prime minister," Mr Dahal - who is best know as Prachanda - said in his address. | |
| The move follows his efforts - opposed by the president - to sack the army head who has refused to integrate ex-Maoist rebel fighters into the force. | |
| The president said Gen Rookmangud Katawal's sacking was unconstitutional. | The president said Gen Rookmangud Katawal's sacking was unconstitutional. |
| Correspondents say that Prachanda's resignation has pushed Nepal into a fresh political crisis following an election win by the Maoists last year. | |
| Into opposition | |
| In his TV address, Prachanda said he was stepping down "for the protection of democracy and peace" in Nepal. | |
| "The move by the president is an attack on this infant democracy and the peace process." | |
| "The interim constitution does not give any right to the president to act as a parallel power," he said. | |
| Prachanda accused President Ram Baran Yadav of taking an "unconstitutional and undemocratic decision" by overturning his efforts to get rid of Gen Katawal. | |
| His resignation follows months of worsening tensions between the ex-rebels and their former foes in the military. | |
| Correspondents say that the expectation now is that the Maoists will sit in opposition in parliament. There is no suggestion that the Maoists will abandon constitutional politics, they add. | |
| The Maoists want their fighters, who are currently restricted to United Nations-supervised camps, to be integrated into the regular Nepali army. | |
| But the army has refused to take on about 19,000 hardened guerrillas, arguing that they are politically indoctrinated. |