Ruling partners UCPN (Maoist) and the Madhesi Front have agreed to amend the Interim Constitution to pave the way for distributing of citizenship certificates to the children of those who received Nepali citizenship by virtue of birth.

A meeting of the senior leaders of the UCPN (Maoist) and the Madhesi Front held at the Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's residence in Baluwatar Thursday evening arrived at the understanding.

After the amendment to the constitution, those who were born before their parents received the Nepali citizenship by virtue of birth, will also be entitled to citizenship. Some 170,000 people, mostly foreigners born in Nepal, had received citizenship certificates in the fiscal year 2063/64.

Few weeks earlier, chief district officers around the country had openly defied Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar's circular to provide citizenship to such people. The Supreme Court had also issued an interim order to the government not to implement the circular.

"The children of people who received citizenship by virtue of birth cannot be deprived of Nepali citizenship, so we have agreed to amend the constitution," Physical Planning Minister and leader of Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party, Hridayesh Tripathi told reporters after the meeting.

Meanwhile, the coalition partners also agreed to implement the four-point agreement signed by them while forming the coalition. They also agreed to recruit 3000 Madhesi youths in Nepal Army "on the basis of individual qualifications".

According to Tripathi, the Finance Ministry will allocate budget for the recruitment of the Madhesi youths in the army.

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prime Minister Bhattarai, Finance Minister Barshaman Pun, Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Loktantrik) chairman and Deputy PM Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, TMLP chairman Mahantha Thakur, Sadbhawana Party chairman Rajendra Mahato and MJF-Republican acting chairman Raj Kishor Yadav were among those present at the meeting. nepalnews.com