KATHMANDU: CPN Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said that it is a “hypocrisy” to call the Citizenship Bill anti-national.

Speaking to the media people at Bharatpur Airport in Chitwan on Wednesday, the Maoist Center Chair accused the main opposition CPN-UML of misinterpreting the Bill passed by the parliament.

“The essence of the bill is that citizens with both Nepali parents will get citizenship,” Prachanda said, adding “therefore calling it an anti-national is nothing but hypocrisy.”

Prachanda said that the ordinance brought by UML Chair KP Oli when he was the prime minister came in the form of a bill and said that it is dishonest and immoral for UML to blame the incumbent government for the Bill.

He alleged that the UML chair himself did not accept the State Arrangements Committee’s proposal to have a ‘seven-year provision’ for citizenship obtained on the base of marital ground.

The Citizenship Bill returned by the President with a message has been passed in the House of Representatives and sent to the National Assembly.