Deputy Mayor accused of forging citizenship

By Mala Karn, Kalyanpur, Aug. 6: A complaint has been filed with the District Administration Office (DAO) of Saptari against Meera Kumari Yadav, Deputy Mayor of Dakneshwori Municipality, accusing her of being a dual citizen of Nepal and India. 

The complaint alleges that Yadav has taken citizenship certificates of Nepal and India and has asked the DAO to investigate into her citizenship and find out the truth.

Yadav and her husband Mahendra Kumar Yadav are believed to be residents of Supaul district, Nirmali zone, Majhari Panchayat, Bihar, India and supposedly obtained a Nepali citizenship through forged documents presented from the former Aurahi Village Development Committee (presently, Dakneshwori Municipality–6), the complaint states. 

The complaint also names their son Indrajit as having obtained fake Nepali citizenship.

The 2022 electoral roll of the Indian state of Bihar includes Deputy Mayor Yadav’s name and photo at number 633 and her husband’s name at number 632. The complaint also apparently includes other evidence that proves they are Indian nationals.

Chief District Officer of Saptari Janardan Gautam told The Rising Nepal that the DAO received the complaint on Thursday. “We will look into the submitted documents and carry out a thorough investigation,” he said.

Yadav was elected deputy mayor of Dakneshwori in the local election held on May 13. She had received 6,197 votes. She is accused of holding public office with a fake citizenship and carrying out sensitive tasks related to justice delivery presiding over the local level’s judicial committee.

 The entity that filed the complaint has asked the DAO to cancel her and her husband’s citizenship in accordance with the Citizenship Act of 2006 and take legal action against them.

Meanwhile, Yadav has denied all accusations against her. She stressed that her present home, as in her husband’s home, was in Dakneshwori Municipality and her maternal home was in Madhwapur, Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipality. 

She claimed that the complaint lodged against her was part of the opposition’s scheme to discredit her and said that she would help any and all types of investigations conducted on her.