KATHMANDU, May 18: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said issues related to citizenship have not been resolved due to the lack of certification of the citizenship bill by the immediate past President.

Responding to a query of lawmaker Deepak Karki of the Janata Samajbadi Party in Thursday's meeting of the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Dahal said it was hoped that the problem related to citizenship would be resolved as President Ramchandra Paudel is holding discussions on this matter and it would be resolved within a month. 

He shared that consultation was underway regarding the options of requesting for verification through suggestions received in the course of discussions, resolution proposals or requesting to certify cabinet decisions. 

On the occasion, lawmakers had reminded Prime Minister Dahal that while being elected to the post of Prime Minister, he had mentioned resolving citizenship related problems within six months. 

Similarly, the PM expressed commitment to take action against all involved in the fake Bhutanese refugees scam. The government has been carrying out activities not to spare anyone involved in this scam, shared PM Dahal.

The Prime Minister mentioned, "The government has been carrying out an investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugees scam in an impartial manner. Activities are underway to bring the guilty under the ambit of law. I have directed the Home Minister to investigate the case with determination. No one involved in this scam will be pardoned as it has become a serious and sensitive issue for the country."

Responding to a query presented by lawmaker Sher Bahadur Kunwar on the behalf of lawmaker Metmani Chaudhary regarding the involvement of top leaders in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, Prime Minister Dahal said anyone involved in this scam would not be spared. 

On another note, he further said the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has already been asked to provide seeds and fertilizers to farmers on time. 

PM Dahal added priority would be given to agriculture in the coming year's policies, programs and budget. 

Likewise, Prime Minister Dahal responding to a query of lawmaker Anita Devi of Janamat Party said different programs including establishment of chemical fertilizer factories would be given priority in the upcoming policies, programs and budget.

Zero tolerance against corruption

The Prime Minister said that the government had adopted a policy of zero tolerance against corruption. "Not only the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, the government is committed to cracking down on other possible big scams including money laundering  through the amendment of laws, if necessary."   

In his response to a question from Sarbendranath Shukla, the Prime Minister said, "This is an opportunity to correct the situation and we should not let the opportunity for good governance go to waste." 

The head of the government informed the House that the government was ready to unveil the Lal Commission report. His statement followed the questions of Ganga Ram Chaudhary who asked the Prime Minister about the non-implementation of the report despite the court order for the same. 

Chaudhary questioned the Prime Minister about the government’s preparations to provide 'justice' to Resham Chaudhary and others arrested over their connections to the Tikapur incident which is also known as the Tikarpur massacre which took place on August 24, 2015 in Tikapur of Kailali. 

In response, the Prime Minister said the government was preparing to settle down the matter and release Chaudhary and others arrested over the Tikapur incident and other movements launched for identity through a legal way. 

The Prime Minister in response to a query from Prem Suwal said that the bill relating to Khwopa University would be endorsed. 

He was questioned whether a Nepali Prime Minister was forced to begin the foreign visit from India by Chitra Bahadur KC and he made it clear that the government had no such compulsion. 

Prabhu Shah questioned the Prime Minister about the number of people acquiring foreign citizenship by renouncing the Nepali citizenship and the PM responded that the Home Minister was collecting such details. 

Amresh Kumar Singh asked the government about the progress in regard with investigations into the Gaur Massacre and in reply, the Prime Minister said the government's perspective was that investigations into the Gaur incident and others including the Royal Massacre to the 'Madan-Ashrit assassination' should be carried out with a new approach.   

In his response to a query from Yogendra Mandal, the Prime Minister assured that the citizenship issue would be sorted out within the next six months.

 
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