KATHMANDU: Veteran Nepali Congress leader and former minister Rajendra Kharel has passed away at the age of 80.
Kharel died on Sunday night at Frontline Hospital in Baneshwor, where he had been undergoing treatment for asthma and other health complications.
Born in 1946 in Kharelthok, Kavre, Kharel was widely regarded as an idealistic and dedicated leader within the Nepali Congress.
He began his political journey in 1969 as secretary of the Nepal Students’ Union unit committee at the then National College, now known as Shankar Dev Campus.
Kharel played an active role in several major democratic movements, including the 1980 national referendum, the 1985 civil disobedience movement, the 1990 People’s Movement, and the 2006 People’s Movement.
For his political activism, he spent nearly nine years in prison at different times.
After winning a parliamentary seat in the 1999 general election, Kharel served as State Minister for Education before becoming Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare.
According to party sources, his body will be kept at the Nepali Congress central office in Sanepa from 9:00 am to 11:00 am on Monday for party leaders, cadres, and well-wishers to pay their final respects.
His last rites will be performed later today at Pashupati Aryaghat.
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