Kathmandu, July 3 -- Early Tuesday morning, hours before the scheduled Standing Committee meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli held a hasty meeting with President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Oli then went off to the Standing Committee meeting where a majority of the party's senior leadership called for him to resign as both prime minister and party chair. Oli returned to Sheetal Niwas for yet another meeting with Bhandari that same evening.

Again, on Thursday, Oli met with Bhandari for an hour before a crucial Cabinet meeting. After his return, the Cabinet decided to recommend that the President prorogue the budget session of the federal parliament. The president approved the recommendation almost immediatel...