KAVREPALANCHOK: Former minister Rajendra Kharel has passed away at the age of 80.

Known as a simple and modest leader within the Nepali Congress, Kharel had been suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/asthma) for the past few years.

He passed away last night while undergoing treatment at Frontline Hospital in Baneshwor, Kathmandu, according to his son, Mahesh Kharel.

Mahesh is currently the Mayor of Panchkhal Municipality.

Born in 1946 AD in Kharelthok, Kavre, as the second child of Devi Prasad and Mukunda Kumari Kharel, Rajendra was elected to the House of Representatives from Kavre in the 1999 general election.

During his parliamentary career, he served as the Minister of State for Education and later went on to become the Minister for Women, Children, and Social Welfare.