Nawalparasi, December 28

At a time when United Democratic Madhesi Front has been agitating for the past four months putting forth a charter of 11-point demand, including provision of naturalised citizenship to foreign women married to Nepali citizens, as many as 113 Indian women married to Nepali men received the certificate from Nawalparasi District Administration Office.

The issuance of naturalised citizenship certificate shows that UDMF has been disseminating false information about the statute to manipulate the Madhesi people’s sentiments in a bid to make their agitation successful.

The four-month-long ongoing agitation has hit Nawalparasi and its southern parts hard.

Despite the prolonged protest, the DAO provided the certificates to women married to Nepali males after the promulgation of the new statute, a source at the DAO said.

Acting CDO Madhav Prasad Dhungana at Nawalparasi DAO said the rumour disseminated by agitating Madhesi parties about marital citizenship provision was false.

“Any foreign woman married to a Nepali male can have naturalised citizenship without obstruction,” he added.

Article 11(6) in the new constitution states that a foreign woman married to a Nepali citizen may acquire naturalised citizenship of Nepal as provided in the federal law.

Those acquiring naturalised citizenship are from India’s Maharajgunj, Debriya, Gorakhpur and Sisainiya.