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Nepal to mourn late former PM

Xinhua, April 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

The government of Nepal has declared Friday public holiday to mourn the demise of Nepal's five- time Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, Minister for Industry Mahesh Basnet said here on Thursday.

A meeting of the council of ministers presided over by Prime Minister of Nepal Sushil Koirala decided to conduct final rites of the late Prime Minister Thapa with state honors.

According to Basnet, national flags will be lowered to half- mast in all Nepalese diplomatic missions in foreign countries on Friday as a day of remembrance for the former prime minister.

According to Kiran Giri, leader of Thapa's party, the former chairman's body was brought to Nepal from New Delhi on Thursday evening.

"Thapa's body will be kept for condolence ceremony at his Kathmandu-based home and party office on Friday," Giri told Xinhua. He said that Thapa's last rites will be conducted at Kathmandu- based Pashupati Aryaghat on Friday afternoon.

Thapa passed away at Medanta hospital in the Indian capital New Delhi Wednesday night at the age of 87.

The former chairman of Nepal's Rashtriya Prajatantra Party had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and had undergone gastrectomy in the hospital. He was taken to New Delhi last week for medical treatment.

Thapa was kept on ventilator support in the Medanta hospital after suffering multiple organ failure at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday night.

Thapa became the prime minister of the Himalayan country for five times, under the three different kings, in a political career that lasted for about 60 years. He served as the prime minister in 1963-64, 196569, 197983, 199798 and 2003-04 and also as ministers in different periods in the past 50 years.

Thapa was the first prime minister of the Panchayat regime in Nepal that lasted for 30 years in Nepal from 1960.

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, chairman of Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) KP Sharma Oli and other leaders have expressed grief over Thapa's death.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also conveyed condolences to Thapa's family members on Thursday. Endi