The Supreme Court issuing a stay order on the Home Ministry’s recent circular that ordered all 77 district administration offices to issue citizenship by descent to the children of citizens by birth has received considerable attention in all major national dailies along with news of patients suffering after government doctors continued their strike on Monday.
Here is a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from the cover pages of national broadsheets:
Important
Interim order not to implement government’s decision on citizenship
Annapurna Post, Kantipur, Arthik Abhiyan, Naya Patrika and Rajdhani report that the Supreme Court has issued an interim order to the government instructing not to implement the circular issued by the Home Ministry on April 2 allowing chief district officers across the country to issue citizenship by descent to the children whose parents are citizens by birth.
A single bench of Justice Purushottam Bhandari issued the interim order on Monday. The court has also issued an interlocutory interim order summoning the plaintiff and the defendants for discussion on the issue on April 16.
A writ petition was filed at the Supreme Court by advocate Balkrishna Neupane on Sunday against the Prime Minister’s Office and the Home Ministry for allowing citizenship by descent to the children of the parents having citizenship by birth.
Amid uncertainty surrounding the amendment to the Citizenship Act 2006, the Home Ministry had issued a circular to all 77 chief district officers across the country, telling them to grant citizenship by descent to those individuals whose parents are citizens by birth. According to the Article 11(3) of the constitution, a child of a citizen having Nepali citizenship by birth shall acquire the citizenship of Nepal by descent if both mother and father are citizens of Nepal.
Despite the provision guaranteeing such individuals their right to citizenship by descent, the district offices had halted processing such applications, following the introduction of Citizenship Act 2006 Amendment Bill in Parliament last August.
Patients suffer as doctors continue strike
Nagarik, Rajdhani and The Himalayan Times report that protest launched by the Government Doctors’ Association of Nepal since Friday has severely affected patients. GODAN has been demanding that the federal government retain the authority to hire and transfer all doctors working in the country. The federal government, however, has transferred this authority to provincial and local governments as well following enactment of the Civil Servant Adjustment Act. GODAN has been saying the permission granted to provincial and local governments to hire and transfer doctors will severely affect their career prospects as they will be restricted to certain provinces or municipalities.
The federal government, so far, has not shown any interest to amend the legal provision to address the demands of government-hired doctors. Neither have doctors provided signals to recall the protest. This means patients who visit government-owned hospitals or primary healthcare centres will have to bear the brunt in the coming days as well.
On the other hand, Annapurna Post and Kantipur report that the government has threatened the doctors that it will take action against them if they do not stop their protest. The doctors on the other hand have said they will all resign if the government does so.
Govt bars Lalita Niwas land transactions
Nagarik and Republica report that the government has barred transactions of Lalita Niwas land at Baluwatar on the ground that it was acquired through various machinations. The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation banned transactions in the land after concluding that a group of erstwhile owners, land revenue officials and the ‘land mafia’ had managed to lay hands on 114 ropani of the land in questionable fashion.
A preliminary study conducted by the government shows irregularities while registering ownership of the land. The restriction on transaction applies to land including that owned by Bhatbhateni Super Market and land being used by the Nonresident Nepalis Association for building its headquarters. It has already come to light that both Bhatbhateni and the NRN association procured the controversial land from the family of then prime minister Subarna Shumsher Rana and the land mafia. The Rana family had already relinquished the land to the government against due compensation.
Similarly, Kantipur reports that the prime minister and the chief justice’s residence are also under the name of the land mafia. A committee under former secretary Sharada Prasad Thrital found out that land where the offices of the two highest-ranking government officials are under the name of land mafia. The committee has asked CIAA to look into the matter.
Ignored
Nepali peacekeeping troops in Libya are safe, Nepal Army says
The Kathmandu Post reports that amid concerns from different quarters, the Nepal Army in a press statement said on Monday that the 231 personnel-strong Nepali peacekeeping force in Libya was safe and there are no immediate plans to remove them.
While the armies from different countries are gradually moving out from Libya as the security situation in the North African country grows tense by the day, Nepal Army troops deployed as the blue helmets continue to guard the headquarters of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission.
The United States and India have evacuated their forces out of Tripoli as military strongman Khalifa Haftar pushes on with an assault on the capital.
PM says sugar mills tricked him into imposing restriction on import
Republica reports that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has vented ire against sugar mill owners for ‘tricking’ him into imposing quantity restrictions on the import of sugar last year. Addressing the inaugural function of the 16th annual general meeting of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), he said domestic sugar mill owners betrayed him by raising the sugar price exorbitantly and creating a shortage of the item in the market after the government restricted imports in line with their request.
Prime Minister Oli’s accusation comes nearly seven months after the decision to import restrictions taken at the behest of sugar mill owners. Bowing to the sugar mill lobby, the government in September last year decided to restrict sugar imports to 100,000 tons for the fiscal year. Imports came to a halt, leaving the market to rely on supplies from domestic sugar mills.
Most Chand outfit leaders, cadres out on bail
Republica reports that officials at Nepal Police Headquarters have claimed that a majority of leaders and cadres of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) who have been arrested to date are either out on bail or were released after interrogations.
According to spokesperson of Nepal Police Headquarters Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Uttam Raj Subedi, 338 out of the 579 arrested since mid-April last year were brought to court and a majority of these released on bail. 135 others were released after simple interrogations he said.
Interesting
Over a dozen CDOs transferred
Rajdhani reports that the Home Ministry has transferred over 12 CDO from various districts. The Home Ministry has called a few CDOs to work at the ministry while deploying ministry staff to work as CDOs in place of them.
India’s major parties are divided over regional strategy
The Kathmandu Post reports that India’s two major political parties, Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress, appear sharply divided over their approaches when it comes to taking forward two major regional groupings—SAARC and BIMSTEC—as the country heads to polls this week. The election manifesto of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, unveiled on Monday in New Delhi, talks about expediting BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) but has dropped the mention of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). In contrast, the Congress party in its manifesto is silent on BIMSTEC, while it makes a push for SAARC.
