[1] He was the first communist Finance Minister who championed the "Afno Gaun Afai Banau" (Nepali: आफ्नो गाउँ आफै बनाउँ; Develop our own village) campaign.
He also served as the deputy prime minister of Nepal in the Deuba cabinet (2004–05), which was later dissolved by King Gyanendra.
Although a central figure of the CPN-UML, he was considered to have held more moderate views.
[citation needed] In 2012, he was at the Medanta Medicity Hospital in New Delhi for suspected valvular heart disease, but was not treated for the same.
[2][3] He died on 2 March 2019 from multiple organ failure stemming from a severe case of COPD.