By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, June 22: The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the parliament has endorsed the Citizenship Amendment Bill with majority votes.
The Bill had been pending in the committee for the last 23 months.
The committee endorsed the Bill as per the decision of the ruling Nepal Communist Party to grant naturalised citizenship certificate to foreign women married to Nepali men only seven years after their wedding.
However, the Bill has a provision to provide permanent residential permission to such foreign women until they are issued the naturalised citizenship certificate.
The main opposition party Nepali Congress and other parties wrote a note of dissent on the decision of the committee
Earlier, a meeting of the office-bearers of the Nepali Congress party and members of the State Affairs

Committee representing the party in the House of Representatives decided to oppose the ruling Nepal Communist Party’s decision to grant the naturalised citizenship certificate to the foreign brides only seven years after their marriage.
After the meeting, NC leader Dilendra Badu informed that his party was for the present provisions on naturalised citizenship to foreign women married to Nepali men.
The NC said the Citizenship Bill should have been finalised in consensus. Meanwhile, Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal has also opposed the decision of the ruling Nepal Communist Party on the naturalised citizenship for the foreign brides, stating that it was not a good decision.
Chairman of Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal Upendra Yadav said the decision to provide citizenship certificate to foreign women married to Nepali men only seven years after their wedding was discriminatory.