RPP Nepal Chair Kamal Thapa, RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane oppose citizenship bill authentication

President Paudel granted stamp of approval to the controversial citizenship bill few hours before Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal embarked on four-day official visit to India.

NL Today

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Kathmandu: Chairperson of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal Kamal Thapa and Chair of Rastriya Swantantra Party (RSP) Rabi Lamichhane have strongly objected to the move of President Ram Chandra Paudel to authenticate the controversial citizenship bill.

Paudel granted stamp of approval to the bill few hours before Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal embarked on four-day official visit to India on Wednesday. “The fact that the bill has been authenticated the day the PM leaves for India makes it clear who actually this bill is meant to please,” Thapa said. “It is a disregard to the institution of presidency and a betrayal to the nation to authenticate the bill which was stalled by former president Bidya Bhandari considering it to be against national interest.”

Leader Thapa has said that president Paudel has undermined the mandate of new parliament. “To authenticate the bill that was inactive for nine months is disrespect to the constitution and people’s mandate.”

Kamal Thapa has mentioned that a Nepali woman married to an Indian national has to wait for seven years to obtain Indian citizenship.  “Now after the authentication of the bill, an Indian woman married to Nepali citizen can obtain a Nepali citizenship within a day and become a lawmaker and minister.”

Likewise, RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane has said that the authentication of the controversial citizenship bill is against Nepal’s national interest. “It is against the respect of the institution of presidency, norms and values of parliamentary democracy and national interests for the government to get the bill authenticated by the president without deliberations in parliament even after six months of parliamentary election,” wrote Lamichhane on Twitter.