Rolpa, July 22 

Former Member of Parliament, Barman Budha, passed away this morning. He was 90. Budha was the first person to take membership of the Communist Party from Rolpa.

The veteran communist leader of Rolpa died at 4.30 am today at Patan Hospital in Lalitpur, his daughter Bijaya Budha said. He had been undergoing treatment in Kathmandu after he was diagnosed of intestine cancer a year back. Budha was admitted to Patan Hospital for advanced treatment after he became very ill some days ago. Budha was elected to the House of Representatives from Rolpa constituency-1 on the then Samyukta Janamorcha (the United People’s Front) ticket in the parliamentary election of 1992.

He is considered the founding leader of the Communist Party in Rolpa. He comes from Thawang of Rolpa district. Budha attracted the attention in parliament as he donned the Kachhad, the local costume, in the meeting of the House of Representatives.

He however started becoming less active in politics after the beginning of the armed conflict in 1996. Before taking the communist party membership, Budha was the Mukhiya (village chief) of Thawang. He also was active in politics for a long time as the Pradhan Pancha (the village mayor) during the Panchayat political system. Budha is venerated in Rolpa out of respect that he built the Communist Party in Rolpa during very difficult period.

He was also decorated by the President two years back in recognition to his contribution to the nation.