Rabi Lamichhane Quits As Nepal Deputy PM After Supreme Court Blow Over Citizenship

Kathmandu: Rabi Lamichhane resigned as the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of Nepal on Friday after the Supreme Court found him guilty of not producing a valid citizenship certificate to contest the parliamentary election.

Lamichhane, 48, handed over his resignation to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”.

After tendering his resgination following the apex court’s verdict, Lamicchane told media persons at his office that he is “no more the Deputy Prime Minister.” “I am not even the president of the Rastriya Swotantra Party,” he said. Welcoming the apex court’s verdict he said: “I am not even the citizen of this country or ‘Anagarik’ non-citizen.” Lamichhane was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister on December 25.

The Supreme Court annulled Lamichhane’s status as a lawmaker, citing that the citizenship certificate he produced to contest the parliamentary election was invalid.

“As Rabi Lamichhane has not completed the process for reacquiring his Nepali citizenship after renouncing his American citizenship, he cannot be a candidate for the position of a member of the House of Representatives or be elected to that position,” read the verdict.

Lamichhane returned to Nepal as a US citizen in 2014 after spending years in America and acquired Nepali passport a year later.

As the court invalidated his citizenship certificate, he can’t even be considered a Nepali citizen for now, making him ineligible to become a minister and party chief.

As per the Nepalese law, any national who either decides to quit the citizenship or acquires foreign citizenship will automatically lose his Nepali citizenship.