NEPALESE Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli resigned today following violent protests against a ban on social media platforms and government corruption.

Mr Oli said he was stepping down immediately, after rioters set fire to the homes of some of Nepal’s top political leaders.

The violence was sparked by a social media ban that was lifted early today, following anti-government protests on Monday which saw police open fire and kill 19 people.

That night, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned at an emergency cabinet meeting.

Local reports and videos shared on social media showed rioters attacking residences of the top political leaders in and around Kathmandu and also the headquarters of Mr Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist–Leninist.

A curfew was imposed in the capital and other cities and schools in Kathmandu were closed.

Among the houses torched were those of Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, President Ram Chandra Poudel, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal. 

A private school owned by Mr Deuba’s wife Arzu Deuba Rana, the current foreign minister, was also set on fire.

The unrest began on Monday as protests against the ban on social media platforms turned violent.

Protester Durganah Dahal said: “They killed so many youths yesterday who had so much to look forward to. Now they can easily kill us all. We protest until this government is finished.”

Nepal’s government was attempting to regulate social media, with a Bill aimed at ensuring that the platforms are “properly managed, responsible and accountable.”

The registration requirement applied to about two dozen social networks widely used in Nepal as most failed to comply.

Neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, X and WhatsApp, responded to requests for comment.

TikTok, Viber and three other platforms have registered and operated without interruption.