Dozens of cadres of various fringe parties and organisations today demonstrated at Baneshwor against the recent circular issued by the Ministry of Home Affair’s to district administration offices ordering them to issue citizenship by descent to children of those who had acquired citizenship by birth.

The protest turned violent as the agitating participants tried to breach the prohibited zone at Baneshwor towards the federal Parliament hall.

Leaders of Rastriya Janamorcha, Communist Party of Nepal (Masal), CPN (ML), Jana Samajbadi Party and members of organisations such as Save Upper Karnali Campaign participated in the protest programme.

They had marched to Baneshwor from Maitighar. The agitating group also burned a copy of the circular that asked the authorities to issue citizenship of descent to children of citizenship by birth.

The Home Ministry had issued the circular on April 2.

The circular was then vacated by a single bench of Justice Purushottam Bhandari on April 8, acting on a writ petition filed by Senior Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane of the Supreme Court.

The interim order issued by Justice Bhandari, however, was again vacated on April 16 by a division bench of Justice Hari Krishna Karki and Bam Kumar Shrestha.

It is estimated that there are around 170,042 citizens by birth.