Govt. to provide land, perks  to former premier Bhattarai

December 17, 2004
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The government has decided to provide land and other perks to former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, an official announcement said Friday.

According to Home Ministry, the government will find a suitable place to build an ‘Ashram’ for Bhattarai, which will later be converted into a ‘Trust’ to be named after him.

The government will also appoint a private health assistant to Bhattarai and will bear all the expenses of his medical treatment within the country or abroad, the Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry said the government will make provision for a vehicle for Bhattarai and will also recruit staff for his private secretariat.

“The government has made the decision in view of Bhattarai’s contributions towards promoting democracy and nationalism in the country,” the Home Ministry said.

Bhattarai is the first former prime minister to receive such perks.

A veteran politician, Bhattarai began his political career as a Nepali Congress activist. A freedom fighter in the 1950s, he was appointed as Speaker of the first popularly elected parliament in 1959. After late King Mahendra dissolved the parliament and banned political parties, Bhattarai spent over a decade in jail fighting for democracy and human rights in the country.

A former president of Nepali Congress, Bhattarai was appointed Prime Minister of an interim government on April 19, 1990 after the restoration of democracy through a peaceful ‘jana andolan.’ He was also instrumental in drafting the constitutional of the kingdom of Nepal, 1990, and organizing parliamentary elections in May, 1991.

He, however, lost elections.

He was again elected Prime Minister after the third parliamentary elections in 1999 but was forced to resign amid intra-party feud after ten months in early 2000.  After resigning from the post, Bhattarai—who was not keeping well, refrained from taking part in public or political functions.

A lifelong bachelor, Bhattarai is even referred to as a ‘saint politician.’ He now leads a solitary life at Bhaisepati in Lalitpur.

He was largely neutral when Nepali Congress, the party he helped to found, underwent a vertical split two years ago.

Meanwhile, in a front-page news report, Rastriya Bimarsha, a national tabloid, reported Friday that the council of ministers last week had decided to provide five ropanis of land and other facilities to the former premier.

Bhattarai isn’t in contact with political activists and his well-wishers except his private aide, Ms Amita Kapali, and Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka.  Khadka was instrumental in getting these facilities endorsed by the cabinet, the news report said.

The weekly further said it depends on the moral strength of a political leader whether to enjoy official perks and benefits offered by the state.