KATHMANDU, June 24: Expressing serious objection over the government's recently endorsed "Online Media Operation Directive 2016," Matrika Poudel, press advisor to Minister for Information and Communication has resigned his post. He submitted his resignation letter at the ministry on Thursday.

Talking to Republica, he said that he decided to resign after the ministry introduced the directive without consulting stakeholders, including him. "

The ministry introduced the directive in an autocratic way without sufficient consultations with concerned stakeholders, including me. Some provisions are blatantly against freedom of the press. So, I decided to resign from the post," he said.

However, Poudel's resignation is yet to be approved by the ministry. One of the points in the directive states that the government can block websites if they fail to renew their registration on time or publish contents that are against the law. Various stakeholders, including the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, have been expressing objection to the provision of blocking websites saying that it undermines freedom of expression.