While lawmakers belonging to the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) argued that a new provision is required to check crossborder criminal activities and safeguard nationality, lawmakers of other political parties including the Madhes-based ones opposed the idea.
At a meeting of the National Interest Preservation Committee under the Constituent Assembly, Nepali Congress lawmaker Ajaya Kumar Chaurasia said a new provision requiring passports or identity cards would make the lives of people living in the border areas very difficult. “It would be difficult to implement as people living in border areas have relations of ´bread and daughter´ with villages across the border,” he said.
Nepal and India share an 1,800-km open border. Nepali and Indian nationals do not need any passport or identity card to travel to each other´s country.
Besides going to India for work, people living in the Tarai districts and villages across the border in India have matrimonial relationships.
Chaurasiya said introduction of a passport system for travel to India would be meaningless unless the open border is managed in a scientific manner.
Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Anandidevi) lawmaker Laxman Lal Karna said people living in border villages in the Tarai will bear the burnt of the hassles if a passport system is introduced for travel to India. “There are people who step across to India to buy commodities at cheaper prices and avail themselves of various facilities including medical treatment,” he said.
However, Maoist lawmaker Chandra Bahadur Thapa said there must be a passport or identity card system in place. He said enforcement of such a system is necessary to check crossborder crime and safeguard nationality.
Thapa argued that a passport provision should be incorporated in the new constitution as a constitution could last hundred of years. “The inclusion of a new provision does not mean we should start implementing it right away,” he added.
Another Maoist lawmaker, Indra Jit Rai, said a passport system cannot be brought into practice unless the tripartite treaty between India, Nepal and Britain is amended. “However, it is essential to implement a passport provision to keep our sovereignty intact,” he added.
Lawmaker Larkel Lama said many villages in Gorkha, Mugu and Humla districts share a similar culture with Tibetan villages and they have marriage relations also. Stating that they need passports to enter Tibetan territory, he said, “There must be uniform laws for entering both Indian and Chinese territory.”
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