KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has argued that the writ filed against him demanding nullification of his post as lawmaker should be revoked for he (Lamichhane) never cancelled his Nepali citizenship and the nationality dispute was resolved five years ago.
Submitting a written response to the Supreme Court query about writ regarding his eligibility for the post of MP on Friday, the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Lamichhane argued that he need not apply for obtaining Nepali citizenship since he never cancelled it while obtaining US Citizenship.
He admitted that he obtained US citizenship on February 22, 2014 and renounced that citizenship on May 19, 2018.
Lamichhane mentioned that since he did not give up his Nepali citizenship while obtaining American citizenship in 2014, he did not have to fulfill the provisions related to regaining his Nepali citizenship.
As argued by Lamichhane’s lawyers in the discussion for the interim order in the Constitutional Bench earlier, the Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman has insisted in his written reply that he should not go through the process of retrieving the citizenship. He also stated that the dispute regarding his citizenship arose about five years ago and was resolved at that time.
“After I returned from the United States, the respondent joined News-24’s program called ‘Sidha Kura Janata Sanga’ and while running the program, about 5 years ago, when a complaint was filed with the Press Council about my Nepali citizenship, I immediately renounced my American passport and citizenship. I submitted it to the Government of Nepal through the Department of Immigration, the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Lamichhane’s written reply submitted to the Supreme Court read.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the last hearing in the writ against Lamichhane in the constitutional bench on 25th of January.
Comment