Kathmandu, September 21:

Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, tabling the Nepal Citizenship Bill, 2006 in the House of Representatives (HoR) today said all eligible people should be given Nepali citizenship certificates before the elections to a Constituent Assembly.

Responding to queries put forth by MPs about the Bill, he said the technical aspects would make the process of issuing citizenship certificates longer. “Efforts are being made to work out agreements between the government and the Maoists for finalising the interim constitution,” he said, adding that interim constitution could be taken as a “compromising document”.

Past agreements with the Maoists have made mention of the citizenship issue, he said. The HoR met twice today.

In the first session, MPs, taking note of the military coup in Thailand, warned of a military coup in Nepal.

Chairman of the Parliamentary State Affairs Committee (SAC), Hirdaya Ram Thani, presented the report on a bill proposed for amending and integrating acts related to the Nepali Army at the House of Representatives (HoR) at the second session.

Presenting the bill, Thani said it has been drafted to make the Nepali Army “loyal and accountable” to people and the government. The Army would be operated by the government on the recommendation of the National Security Council, he said.

He said the bill has authorised the government to appoint the Chief of the Army Staff, who used to be appointed by the King earlier. The tenure and the age limits of the ranks have been stipulated in the bill, he said.

The bill has authorised any ordinary court to conduct hearing on cases related to murder and rape in which army men are accused of involvement, he said. “The bill has recommended the formation of the Special Military Court to look into the cases of corruption, torture, disappearance and theft in which army men are accused of involvement.”

According to the SAC, there are 14 differences in the existing military law and in the proposed bill. The bill has additional provisions, according to which, anyone joining the Army would be provided training on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, and any army man accused of offence would be given an opportunity to defend himself. The House is likely to pass the bill tomorrow.