Nepal Parliament set on fire after PM quits amid anti-corruption protests

HUNDREDS of protesters stormed Nepal’s Parliament building in Kathmandu yesterday after days of anti-corruption demonstrations, setting part of the structure ablaze and vandalising its interior, the BBC reported.

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Protesters smashed windows, spray-painted anti-Government slogans, and carried paintings and uprooted plants out of the compound on motorbikes. Around a fire lit at the building’s entrance, many waved Nepal’s flag and chanted against corruption. One graffiti message read: “you took the wrong fight.”

The unrest followed the resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, who stepped down on moral grounds after at least 19 people were killed during the protests, local media reported. Seventeen died in Kathmandu and two in the eastern city of Itahari, according to police. Dozens more were injured in clashes.