Condolences poured in from all quarters on Sunday on the death of Pradip Giri as many took to social media to pay their tributes to the socialist thinker and Nepali Congress leader.

Giri died on Saturday night at around 9:30 while undergoing treatment at the Nepal Mediciti Hospital. He was battling cancer and was admitted to the hospital last month after he developed pneumonia.

Doctors said Giri died of multiple organ failure.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari said she was saddened by the demise of the socialist thinker.

“We lost a principled intellectual in the demise of Pradip Giri. I express my sincere condolences to him and deep sympathy for the bereaved family,” she wrote on Twitter.

Cross-party leaders described Giri as an intellectual and a man of conviction who walked the talk.

“I am grieved by the death of a thoughtful politician and friend Pradip Giri. I offer my deepest condolences to him and sympathy to his bereaved family,” CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli wrote on Twitter.

Leaders said Giri’s demise was a big shock to them and it left a void in Nepali politics and society.

CPN (Maoist Centre) chair and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said his death came as a big shock to him.

“The demise of the intellectual figure of Nepali politics, senior socialist thinker and leader of the Nepali Congress Pradip Giri has shocked me. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family,” Dahal wrote on Twitter.

Also expressing his condolences, Nepal Samajbadi Party chairperson and former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said words fail him to express his grief.

Taking to Twitter, he said, “I am at a loss for words at the death of Pradip Giri, a strong socialist thinker and dear friend. Deep intellectual discussions with him for 45 years since 2034 BS have given me great energy. All of us involved in the development of the neo-socialist trend have suffered a great loss in his death! Heartfelt condolences.”

Not just from the Nepali leaders, Indian politicians too joined in to express condolences on the death of Giri, who was known as a Gandhian and highly influenced by Indian socialist leaders like Jayprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohiya.

Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar paid his tribute to Giri stating that the late leader had gained the respect and admiration of political parties of all ideologies across political boundaries.

"Saddened by the passing away of senior Nepali Congress leader and honorable member of the House of Representatives, Pradip Giri. He was a philosopher and socialist thinker of Nepali politics. He gained the respect and admiration of political parties of all ideologies across political boundaries. May God give peace to his soul," wrote Kumar on Facebook.

Giri, who started his political journey from Banaras in India, had friends in India, many of whom are in politics.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury remembered him as a relentless fighter for democracy and close friend of India.

“Deeply grieved at the passing away of dear friend and comrade in arms Pradip Giri. He was a relentless fighter for democracy, led struggles against the monarchy in Nepal and a steadfast friend of India. Salute, Pradip,” Yechury wrote on Twitter.

Similarly Mohan Prakash, spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, described Giri as a true socialist leader, a Gandhian & lohiate by heart who devoted his whole life to social cause. He said on Twitter, “Deeply saddened by the passing away of Senior Leader of Nepali Congress & a dearest friend of mine MP Shri Pradeep Giri Ji.”

Many Indian leaders say India lost its good friend in the demise of Giri.

Offering tribute to Giri, Bahujan Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sudhindra Bhadoria, said that India has lost a friend, an adviser and a person who always spoke against injustice.

Taking to Twitter Bhadoria said, “Received information in the morning of the death of my great friend #Pradip_Giri, the great democracy fighter of Nepal, I have no words to express the feeling of sorrow. Today India has lost a friend, an adviser and a person who always spoke against injustice. Humble tribute to Pradip ji.”

Ranjit Rae, a former Indian ambassador to Nepal, said he remembers Giri as a patriotic leader who was also deeply committed to Nepal-India ties. “Shocked and saddened. Pradip ji was a true statesman. Erudite, patriotic, with an unshakable belief in an inclusive, equitable society, a free spirit, involved in but above politics. Deeply committed to Nepal-India ties. He will be sorely missed. RIP Pradip ji,” he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of people from different walks of life thronged the Nepal Medicity Hospital premises between 9 am to 11 am to pay their final tributes to Giri. Similarly, Nepali Congress leaders and cadres offered their tributes to the late leader at the party headquarters at Sanepa where his body was kept from 11:30 am to 2 pm before the procession to Pashupati.

He was cremated at Aryaghat on Sunday evening where hundreds of people gathered to bid farewell to their leader.