Kathmandu: Maoists ministers quit the interim multi-party government in Nepal today under dramatic circumstances to voice their resentment against Prime Minister G P Koirala resisting calls by the former rebels to resign.

The ministers tendered their resignation during a stormy meeting of the ruling Seven Party Alliance to discuss modalities of forming a new government following differences over convening of the Constituent Assembly, Nepali Congress vice-president Gopalman Shrestha said.

They will be formally submitting the resignations to Koirala tomorrow since he had already left the meeting venue when they gave the resignation letters tonight, he added.

Matters came to a boil after a dispute over the date of convening the next constituent assembly meeting that is expected to amend the constitution and pave way for the Maoists to form the new government, he said. The Maoists are also pressing for the resignation of Koirala to pave the way for forming a Maoist-led government.

The Maoist ministers had resigned en masse on June 12 also in an apparent bid to pressurise Koirala to quit and allow formation of a new administration led by the former rebels.

However they had tendered their resignations to party chief Prachanda and technically they were part of the government.

Source : PTI