By Sudeshna Sarkar

Kathmandu, May 28 (IANS) Faced with an unparalleled constitutional crisis from Friday midnight, Nepal's embattled Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal finally bowed down before the Maoist demand for his resignation and said he would quit in 48 hours.

The prime minister would make the commitment in an address in parliament Friday afternoon when the 601-member house convenes, the Prime Minister's Office said.

Nepal, who regretted his one-year-old government had not been able to ready the new constitution within the May 28 deadline, blamed the opposition Maoist party for the lapse, saying it had hampered the process due to its lust for power.

Nepal's offer to resign will now pave the way for the constituent assembly, which also functions as the interim parliament, to get a new lease of life and avert a crisis that was to have begun from midnight.

It will also trigger a new race for leadership of a new national government with the Maoists demanding to lead the new government.