KATHMANDU, Aug 11: Following the CPN-UML’s decision not to renew the party membership of former President Bidya Devi Bhandari, her daughter Usha Kiran Bhandari has resigned from the party’s Foreign Affairs Department.
Usha, who had been serving as a member of the department, tendered her resignation three days ago, according to sources. The UML has now assigned the leadership of the Foreign Affairs Department to party secretary Raghubir Mahaseth. Usha herself has not made any public statement on the matter. The eldest daughter of the late Madan Bhandari, Usha is currently the chairperson of the Madan Bhandari Foundation.
30th Madan Memorial Day: Former President Bhandari visits Madan...
On July 25, former President Bhandari held a press conference claiming that her party membership remained intact. Since then, several UML leaders from various departments have stated that she should not return to active politics. UML Chair KP Sharma Oli and General Secretary Shankar Pokharel have also remarked that Bhandari, as a respected figure who has held the nation’s highest office, should maintain her dignity by staying above active political involvement.
The UML Central Committee (CC) decided to bar the former president from engaging in the party’s political activities. In response, on July 24, Usha posted on social media that she was not surprised by the decision to prevent her mother from rejoining politics.
“I was surprised to see that some of you were surprised by this decision. How can you live without observing human nature? I am not surprised at all by either the decision or the conspiracies behind it. I am actually glad that this has come out openly,” she wrote. “Today also marks the Memorial Day of Comrade Pushpa Lal—what a coincidence! I used to wonder why his family never visibly stood in moral support. Even when my mother said she didn’t want us in politics, she still encouraged us to stand visibly in support of the party and give moral backing, not to distance ourselves—and we tried to do so. But over the past month, I have realized that they can push things to the point where even moral support is not acceptable. And they don’t seek moral support either. This incident gave me the opportunity to unload the burden of that realization—so I thank this episode!”
Usha had been a member of the department not only under the leadership of Raghubir Mahaseth but also when Dr. Rajan Bhattarai headed it. She had already been dissatisfied with the party’s decision not to renew her mother’s membership. Since then, she has been actively working to mark the 75th birth anniversary of Madan Bhandari, even setting up a separate office for the event—which has also been viewed as a liaison office for former President Bhandari.
With the UML’s statute convention approaching, Bhandari has been meeting party leaders and cadres from her residence in Bhangal after establishing this contact office.