Kathmandu, August 21. The Nepali Congress has decided to lower the party flag at the party’s central and all other offices under it at half-mast for three days on August 21, 22 and 23 to pay high respects to its deceased leader Pradeep Giri. 

The party has also put off all its programmes except the condolence-paying ones for three days.

An emergency meeting of the central working committee held at the party’s central office at Sanepa on Sunday, passed a condolence proposal, expressing sorrow over the passing away of socialist thinker, former central committee member and House of Representatives member Giri. 

Further, the Nepali Congress has decided to close the party central office and all offices under it on August 22, Monday and to keep condolence book at the central and district offices until September 1, the 13th day of Giri’s demise, Party Chief Secretary Krishna Prasad Poudel said.

Condolence meeting would be held at the party central office and all the district offices on September 1. 

Giri was the light of intellectual knowledge in the contemporary Nepali politics, a socialist thinker, writer and a principled multi-dimensional personality. 

He died at 9.30 pm Saturday at Mediciti Hospital in Lalitpur. He was 75.

Moreover, he was popular not only within the Nepali Congress party but also among his Nepali and foreign contemporaries. The meeting concluded that the demise of a great intellectual leader Pradeep Giri has caused a big loss to the Nepali democratic movement, the Nepali Congress, the entire parliamentary exercise and the nation as a whole. 

Paying high respects to the late Giri, the meeting wished for the eternal peace of the departed soul and expressed condolences to the bereaved family and all the party members. A two minutes’ silence was also observed in the meeting paying tributes to the late Giri and prying eternal peace to his departed soul. 

Last rites of Giri was performed at Pashupati Aryaghat today itself. (RSS)