Jan 23, Kathmandu - Ashika Tamang, a candidate for the House of Representatives from Dhading Constituency No. 1 on behalf of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has been summoned to the German Embassy in Nepal following a controversy over her permanent residence permit (PR) from Germany.

Her constitutional eligibility has been questioned after details of her holding a German PR were made public within hours of her nomination.

According to the Constitution of Nepal and prevailing laws, a person holding a permanent residence permit from a foreign country is ineligible to be a member of the House of Representatives. Due to this legal provision, a debate has started in political and legal circles, saying that Tamang's candidacy is against the constitution.

Tamang, whose permanent address is Malekhu under Gajuri Rural Municipality of Dhading, had managed to be recommended as a candidate by the RSP, surpassing other aspirants and cadres within the party.

Dissatisfaction has also been seen within the RSP after the details regarding PR were made public.

Earlier, a by-election was held in Chitwan-2 due to the dual citizenship and passport dispute of the same party's president, Rabi Lamichhane, in the US and Nepal.

In the background of the state having to bear double election expenses due to that incident, it is being analyzed that Tamang's candidacy has again posed a legal risk.

According to the information received, Tamang had obtained Nepali citizenship number 5386 from the District Administration Office, Dhading. Then, on June 2, 2014, she went to Germany to study as a staff nurse with Nepali passport number 07451156.

She married Thomas Intekofer in Germany. They have a 10-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter.

According to records, Tamang obtained a permanent residence permit (PR) for Germany on November 7, 2017 (21 Kartik 2074).

The last time she obtained a Nepali passport number PA-1788684 on June 9, 2023, and reached Germany on June 5, 2082 and returned to Nepal on June 17. During that period, she also renewed her German permanent residence permit card.

The records state that she obtained a new PR card to replace her expired permanent residence permit card, which appears to be valid until June 8, 2033, according to the expiration date of her last Nepali passport.