Pokhara, February 27

A programme was organised in Pokhara today to mark the first death anniversary of late Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader Rabindra Adhikari.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, while addressing the programme from Kathmandu through video conferencing, remembered the late leader as a popular leader both in the party and among the public and expressed condolences to the families of those who died with Adhikari in the fateful helicopter crash while returning from Taplejung.

“He (Adhikari) was a diligent and intellectual leader invested with a positive outlook and great calibre, which was borne out of his performance even during the short tenure as a minister. His death has been an irreparable loss to the party,” said the PM.

Gandaki Province Chief Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung remembered the leader as a peacemaker in the party. “At a time when the entire party would be divided in this or that faction, he rose above factionalism and played a constructive role to keep the party unified,” he observed.

Incumbent Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai also spoke on the occasion. “It’s been around three decades since I first met him. I got to learn a lot from him in the successive years. As his successor, I have picked up from where he had left in his ministry,” said the minister.

On a different note, the ruling party leader referred to the recent conflict in the party’s central

leadership and assured that the conflict wouldn’t affect the party’s unity.

“Everyone has felt the shock waves of the recent jolt in the party, but let me assure you there is nothing to fear. The latest crisis, or whatever, is bound to settle down and the party chairpersons and other top leaders won’t do anything that will be detrimental to the party,” he told the audience.

Meanwhile, earlier this morning Gandaki Province Chief Minister Gurung unveiled a life-size image of the late leader in Jamuna Bot in Pokhara metropolis. The statue was built by the National Heroes and Martyrs Garden Management Committee.