Bill on Citizenship debated

Minister for Home Ram Bahadur Thapa tabled the bill in the House meeting.
Earlier, putting forth their opinions on the bill, the lawmakers said that the citizenship should not be distributed like the distribution of bus tickets to the folks but suggested that giving citizenship in the name of mother should be effectively brought into implementation.

The lawmakers were of the views that the existing provision of necessity of father’s name and identity to collect the citizenship has added woes to many despite the constitution guarantees equal rights to the men and women. In such backdrop, the first amendment bill should resolve the problems facing to that end, lawmakers said.

Commenting on the bill, lawmaker Krishna Bhakta Pokharel said that many children in his district Chitwan were not given citizenship for lack of their fathers’ identity.

Similarly, lawmaker Parbati Kumar Bishankhe shared a fact that around 900,000 children are victimized for not getting citizenship in the name of mothers while stressing the need for giving citizenship on equality basis.

Likewise, lawmaker Hridayesh Tripathi asked when the provision of giving citizenship in the name of mothers would begin though the men and women were given right to equality.

However, lawmaker Prem Suwal said that giving the citizenship in an accessible manner should not be ensured given our open border system with India. Lawmaker Durga Poudel also echoed the voice of Suwal during the meeting.

Lawmakers Devendra Raj Kandel, Anjana Bishankhe, Rekha Sharma, Gagan Thapa, Brinda Pandey, Sarala Kumari Yadav, Sarita Kumari Giri, Rekha Kumari and Shekh Chandtara among others demanded the implementation of provision to distribute the citizenship in the name of mothers.

In response upon the lawmakers’ concerns, Home Minister Thapa said that the Bill was tabled to give citizenship to Nepalis. He said that the government was committed to ending any sort of discrimination over the issue of citizenship and made it clear that there would be equal rights to all. However, the government is sensitive not to issue citizenship to non-Nepali and foreigners since it was linked to national identity, dignity and security.

The Home Minister also said that the proposed Act has made special provision to give citizenship in the name of mother and promised to pass it by revising the weaknesses remaining in the bill.