The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) recently issued a circular to all the district administration offices and regional administration offices to issue the children of over an estimated 100,000 people who had acquired citizenship by birth following an amendment to the existing citizenship certificate law in 2006. [break]
According to the circular, a copy of which is with Republica, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar decided to issue the circular on January 8 and it was communicated to all the five regional administration offices and 75 district administration offices two days later. The circular had not come to public notice to date.
The circular aims at meeting one of the clauses in the four-point agreement signed between the UCPN (Maoist) and the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) in August, which related to resolving citizenship problems.
The circular undersigned by Section Officer Madhav Dhungana requires the district administration offices to issue citizenship certificates on the basis of birth as per the Article 8 of the Interim Constitution, Clause 4 (iii) of the Nepal Citizenship Act 2006 and the Nepal Citizenship Rules 2006.
These provisions had been ineffective following two years of the enforcement of the citizenship act -- the law says that the provisions will apply for two years from the commencement of the act.
Though the home ministry circular activated the legal provision, it is likely to invite political controversy as the decision was taken without consulting other political parties. Former home minister and CPN-UML leader Bhim Rawal said Gachchhadar had once held a meeting of political parties to discuss how the provisions should be activated but the meeting had ended with an agreement to hold further discussion on the matter.
“At a recent meeting with the home minister, we had suggested to him that he should make decision on the matter taking our suggestions into consideration and we had also assured him that we would come up with feedbacks in the next meeting," Rawal told Republica, taking the circular with surprise.
"How can a minister make decision on such a sensitive issue unilaterally?,” he exclaimed and said he was unaware about the circular until he spoke to Republica.
Gachchhadar, in recent meeting of ruling Madhesi parties, briefed Madhesi leaders about his move to address the citizenship problem after the latter inquired about the progress in the implementation of the four-point agreement.
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