Citizenship directives will be reviewed, says Home Minister Lekhak

Kathmandu, September 14 — Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has said that the Citizenship Directives will be made timely as per the Constitution, Citizenship Act, Regulations and the Supreme Court order.     

Speaking at a program organized by News Agency Nepal (NAN) here today on 'Citizenship: Laws and Practices', he assured that the directives will be reviewed to be amended in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. "We will quickly form a team to revise the directives, he said.     

Stating that people being denied citizenship even after the court's order is painful, the Home Minister Lekhak said the issue of citizenship should now be resolved and brought to a conclusion. Everyone should be responsible for addressing the pain of people who have not been able to study and get employment because of lack of citizenship certificate.     

Noting that he has prioritized law and policy making after taking charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Lekhak shared that the Police Act enacted in the year 2012 BS is being amended and tabled before the parliament within a month.     

On that occasion, Sabin Shrestha of Forum for Women, Law and Development, Kumar Joshi and Neha Thapa, who have been struggling for citizenship for a long time, said that there was a problem in the non-implementation of the court's decision to grant citizenship in the name of the mother.     

Krishna Poudel, the founding president of NAN, suggested the government to make necessary provisions to secure the rights of citizenship of the citizens of the country.     

Human rights activist Hom Bhattarai held the opinion that the government needs to be serious in implementing the right to citizenship guaranteed by the constitution.