Dhangadhi, Oct. 14 -- Bir Bahadur Thapa, a lawmaker from the CPN-UML, resigned in protest against the budget passed by the Sudurpaschim provincial assembly, deepening divisions within the ruling coalition led by the Nepali Communist Party Khagraj Bhatta.

Thapa, a former minister for land management, agriculture and cooperatives, submitted his resignation to provincial Speaker Bhim Bahadur Bhandari, according to leaders close to him.

The province had been without an approved budget for three months before the government presented its new budget in the assembly on Sunday. The previous budget, introduced on June 15 by the government led by Nepali Congress's Kamal Bahadur Shah with UML support, triggered disputes that eventually brought dow...