The 46th national unity and reconciliation day is being observed across the country by organizing various programmes.
The day is marked every year on December 31 in the memory of the Nepali Congress founding president BP Koirala, who along with some other leaders came back to Nepal after a long exile in neighbouring India.
On December 30 1976, leader Koirala along with some other leaders - Ganesh Man Singh, Shailaja Acharya, Khum Bahadur Khadka, Ram Babu Prasain and Nilambar Panthi returned home after around eight years of exile in India with a message of national unity and reconciliation.
Following a coup by the then King Mahendra Shah on 15 December 1960, the then people's elected Prime Minister Koirala was held captive in Singha Durbar for around three months. He was later transferred to Sundarijal prison on 9 March 1961. After eight years in prison, he was released and taken to India for his medical treatment. From there, he launched political activities against the autocratic Panchyat system.
On this occasion, the NC and its sister organisations and well-wishers will organise various programmes across the country. Similarly, statues of leaders Koirala and Singh at B.P. Museum in Kathmandu will be honoured.
