Over 100 protesters were also injured in clashes with security forces on Monday.<\/b>
\nThe Nepali government has lifted a ban on 26 social media platforms after protests against it on Monday turned violent, leading to the deaths of 19 persons in clashes with security forces, the BBC reported.
Over 100 protesters were injured in the clashes. The demonstrations had been dubbed as a protest by \u201cGen Z\u201d, generally referring to persons born between 1995 and 2010.
Following the protests, Communications and Information Technology Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung on Tuesday told Reuters that the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist\u2013Leninist) government led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had rolled back the ban.
\u201cThe government has already decided to open social media by addressing the demand of Gen-Z,\u201d NDTV quoted Gurung as saying after an emergency Cabinet meeting.
The minister, however, said that the government did not regret its decision to shut the platforms down. \u201cSince protests were being staged using this issue as a pretext, the decision has been taken to reopen social media sites,\u201d he said, and urged the demonstrators to call off the protest.
The Nepali government had banned 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube, on Thursday, saying they had failed to register with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
The move followed a Supreme Court order in August that required all platforms to register before operating so authorities could monitor \u201cunwanted content\u201d.
On Monday, protesters in Kathmandu tried to storm parliament. Some briefly entered a restricted area, prompting police to fire tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and live ammunition, according to the Kathmandu Post.
Several students in school and college uniforms had joined the protest, shouting slogans such as \u201cShut down corruption and not social media\u201d and \u201cYouths against corruption\u201d, Reuters reported.
Police said similar protests were reported in Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Pokhara.
During the day, the prime minister said that he was \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d by the violence and the deaths, blaming the events on \u201cinfiltration by various vested interest groups\u201d, BBC reported.
Oli said that the government would set up a committee to investigate the protests, adding that financial relief would also be offered to victims and free treatment to those injured.
In the evening, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak had tendered his resignation after criticism surrounding the government\u2019s use of force during the protests, BBC reported.
The ban on social media platforms had triggered criticism of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist\u2013Leninist) government.
The Opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) had earlier described the ban as \u201cobjectionable\u201d and warned that shutting down social media could throw the country into disarray.<\/p>\n