KATHMANDU: Sita Dahal, wife of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', passed on Wednesday after suffering from a rare neurological condition for a long time. She was 69.
Sita, who has been ill for a long time passed away Wednesday at Norvic International Hospital in Kathmandu. She was undergoing treatment at the hospital, where the doctors confirmed her death at 8. 33 am, according to his press coordinator Surya Kiran Sharma.
She was suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), Parkinson, diabetes and hypertension diseases, according to a bulletin issued by the hospital. She was taken to the hospital on Wednesday after her health condition turned serious.
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a rare neurological condition that can cause problems with balance, movement, vision, speech and swallowing.
Sita Dahal married Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda ("The Fierce One"), more than half a century ago when both were teenagers. Few details about their lives are on the public record, but Sita was by her husband's side when he launched a decade-long insurgency against the government in 1996.
Sita was serving as an adviser to her husband's Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Center), which entered mainstream parliamentary politics after the insurgency ended in 2006. "Our entire party is shocked by the tragic death of Comrade Sita Dahal," the party said in a statement.
Sita "played a coordinating role as the parent of the entire party during the stormy years of the civil war, to resolve challenges, crises and disputes within the party", the statement added.
Prime Minister Prachanda and wife Sita had three daughters and one son. Their eldest daughter Gyanu Dahal and son Prakash Dahal have already passed away.
She is survived by Prime Minister Prachanda and two daughters, Renu and Ganga. Renu Dahal is currently serving as Mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City. Her last rites will be paid at Aryaghat at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, In neighbouring India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "extremely saddened" to learn of her death. "Extremely saddened to learn about the demise of Mrs. Sita Dahal. I express my sincere condolences to @cmprachanda and pray that the departed soul finds eternal peace. Om Shanti," Modi tweeted.
(With inputs from PTI and AFP)