KATHMANDU, Sept 25: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Rajiv Khatri has criticized former President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s return to active politics, saying she had not overcome her “political hunger” even after serving two terms as president.
Khatri made the remarks on social media after the CPN-UML appointed Bhandari as a senior leader. He questioned what more the former president had to offer the country after serving two terms in the highest constitutional office.
“I expected former heads of state to maintain a higher level of dignity and play a common, unifying role,” Khatri wrote.
He argued that certain positions and spaces should be kept beyond partisan politics for former heads of state to preserve their role as common figures.
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Khatri also said former presidents in Nepal had failed to rise above party politics.
He questioned what he described as a contrasting approach to former heads of state and former King Gyanendra Shah, saying some people regard former presidents and vice presidents entering active politics as democratic while raising concerns of a “coup” when the former king makes political remarks.
“Whether one likes it or not, Gyanendra Shah has maintained the dignity of his former position,” Khatri wrote.
He also criticized the tendency to regard any individual’s presence in politics as indispensable, saying it was an illusion to believe that the country’s politics would come to a standstill without a particular person.
