KATHMANDU, July 30: Senior Nepali Congress (NC) leader Gopal Man Shrestha was cremated at Pashupati Aryaghat on Wednesday following his death during cancer treatment on Tuesday.
Before the cremation, his body was kept at the party's central office in Sanepa from 9 am to 11 am for party leaders, workers, and well-wishers to pay their final respects.
Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa draped the party flag over Shrestha's body as a mark of respect. Leaders from several political parties also attended the tribute, including Rabi Lamichhane, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Rajendra Lingden, and Shankar Pokharel.
Senior NC leader Gopal Man Shrestha passes away
However, several senior Nepali Congress leaders were absent from the party headquarters.
Since the Election Commission recognised the party's special general convention as legitimate, leaders including Dr. Shekhar Koirala, Purna Bahadur Khadka, Prakash Man Singh, Bimalendra Nidhi, Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, and Krishna Prasad Sitaula have stopped attending events at the Sanepa headquarters.
Many had expected Shrestha's death to bring together the rival factions within the Nepali Congress, but the absence of the dissident leaders highlighted the continuing divide.
Shrestha died on Tuesday while undergoing treatment at Holis Hospital in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur.
A former vice president of the Nepali Congress, Shrestha was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1991 and 1999 general elections. He was also elected from Syangja 1 in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election and later became a proportional representation member of the House in the 2017 general election.
Shrestha also served as Deputy Prime Minister and, following the 2002 split in the Nepali Congress, became acting president of the breakaway Nepali Congress Democratic party.
