Kathmandu. Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Ashika Tamang has expressed serious concern over the current legal provisions of Nepal, especially the latest amendment to the Nepal Citizenship Regulations.
Expressing her dissatisfaction over the ‘National Commitment Letter’ made public by the government on Tuesday, she said through the social media Facebook that some provisions in the regulation have discriminated against the Non-Resident Nepalis.
Lawmaker Tamang said that Rule 7 (a) of the Regulation and its related procedures have made provision that some people can be eligible for political and administrative rights only after three months of giving up the permanent residence permit (PR) of foreign countries. “Are Nepalis living abroad less Nepalese than those living in the country? She raised the question.
She said that although Nepalis living abroad have left the country due to compulsion or opportunity, they have never left their identity and love for the country.
“With Nepali passport and citizenship clinging to their chests, whether it is a difficult desert of migration or a modern city, they are giving life to Nepal’s economy with their hard work,” she wrote.
Although Article 10 of the Constitution of Nepal clearly states that no Nepali citizen shall be deprived of the right to citizenship, the citizens have been kept under suspicion just because they have taken PR in practice. “It would not be fair to impose a wait-and-see policy for the services and rights of its own citizens,” he said.
Lawmaker Tamang clarified that taking PR was only a means to make life and struggle easier rather than forgetting the country. She expressed the view that it was unfair to set a deadline for the citizens who are filling the country’s coffers through remittances for their rights in their own country.
She expressed surprise that the government’s latest commitment letter has not adequately addressed the legal and practical problems of Nepalis living abroad. “We have made plans for the country, but why have we forgotten the pillars that are supporting the country’s economy?” she asked.
She made it clear that although it was her primary duty to protect the national interest as a people’s representative, the system of making our own citizens feel second class or pushing them away would not be acceptable. She stressed that the NRNs should be viewed with respect and not with suspicion.
Lawmaker Tamang said that the time has come to make the laws not only strict in letters but also just in practice. “Nepal belongs not only to those living here, but also to every Nepali living abroad who keeps Nepal safe in their hearts,” she said.
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