Discussions continue on Citizenship Bill in HoR

KATHMANDU: Deliberations on Nepal Citizenship (First Amendment) Bill, 2079 are underway in the House of Representatives (HoR). Lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties have been putting forth their views on the bill the President sent back to the parliament along with a message for reconsideration. Anil Kumar Jha said that no Nepali citizen should be deprived of citizenship considering the future of the youth. He said a situation has arisen wherein many youths are on the verge of statelessness as they have not been issued citizenship certificates although their parents have Nepali citizenship. Bhim Bahadur Rawal argued that the President has fulfilled her constitutional duty of safeguarding nationality by returning the bill to the parliament for reconsideration. He said that a sensitive topic like citizenship cannot be decided upon alone by the ruling coalition. All lawmakers agreed that the genuine Nepali national should get a citizenship certificate. Mahesh Basnet opined that there was no problem giving citizenship to a genuine Nepali citizen but it should not be conjectured that a foreigner marrying a Nepali citizen will stay in Nepal after taking the naturalised citizenship. Teju Lal Chaudhary demanded that the parliament should pass the bill as many citizens are facing difficulties in getting admission to colleges for higher studies, travelling abroad and opening bank accounts in their name as they do not have citizenship certificates. MP Chaudhary however, stressed taking stern action against anyone misusing the citizenship card. Likewise, Ganesh Pahadi said that the Citizenship Bill should be passed only after holding extensive discussions in the related parliamentary committee as per the Parliament's by-laws. Radha Kumari Gyawali blamed the present coalition government for introducing the bill in such a manner that it betrays the nation and seeks to pass the bill without holding adequate discussions even after the President has returned it to parliament for reconsideration. Lawmakers have been putting their views on the bill in the HoR meeting. READ ALSO:

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