Kathmandu, Sept. 7 -- At a time when the ruling CPN-UML remains sharply divided over whether former President Bidya Devi Bhandari should return to active politics, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has added fuel to the debate with his fresh remark.

Deuba, while responding to journalists' queries in Morang on Saturday, said that the constitution does not bar former heads of state from rejoining party politics.

Deuba's statement, however, contradicts his own party's earlier stance. Deuba, in a meeting with Congress leaders last month, had said that it would not be prudent for a former head of state to rejoin a political party.

Speaking to journalists at Biratnagar Airport on Saturday morning, the former prime minister said, "...