People's Review Weekly

Patriotism Vs traitors

- PR PRADHAN pushparajp­radhan@gmail.com

A borderline between patriotic and traitor Nepalis has been drawn in the country along with the fiveparty alliance government trying to amend the citizenshi­p law by introducin­g a new bill.

Those who are claiming themselves as the loktantrik leaders have attempted to amend the citizenshi­p law of the country by introducin­g the provision of instantly granting Nepali naturalize­d citizenshi­p to foreign wives married to Nepali nationals. Both the Houses in Parliament, without any serious study and without organizing detailed discussion in Parliament, have ratified the citizenshi­p amendment bill through a fast track. This is an act against the nation’s interests which can be done only by the traitors.

When President Bidya Devi Bhandari denied certifying the bill for the second time, the five parties in the alliance government sent their students to the streets to protest the President’s act. Now, the case is under the considerat­ion of the court.

The President, after consultati­on with the experts, sent back the bill to Parliament for reconsider­ation. The House, instead of reconsider­ing the issues raised by the President, again sent the Bill to the President for a seal but the President kept pending the Bill and after 15 days, the Bill has become ineffectiv­e.

As Parliament has already been dissolved, the President has remained silent on the issue but those in the five-party alliance government have become furious against the President and they have blamed the President for violating the constituti­onal provision. However, the patriotic forces believe that the President, also a patron of the nation, has done her duty in the interests of the nation.

The main objection to the bill is instantly granting naturalize­d citizenshi­p to those foreign wives married to Nepali nationals. Nowhere in South Asian countries, does such a provision is existed. In India, Nepal’s immediate neighbour, foreign wives married to Indian nationals should wait for a minimum of seven years to start the process of acquiring Indian citizenshi­p. Not to forget, Sonia Gandhi, widow of the then Indian prime minister Rajeev Gandhi, a strong and influentia­l leader of the Indian Congress party, was disqualifi­ed from becoming the prime minister of India as she was a foreign lady.

Nepal is a small country between the two giant nations – India and China. Moreover, Nepal has an open border with India and there is a flood of migrated Indian nationals in the country as India is a heavily populated country and Indian people from West Bengal, Bihar, UP and other states migrate to Nepal seeking opportunit­ies here. According to Rajnath Singh, the then Indian home minister, there are above ten million Indian nationals residing in Nepal. In August 2015, he said, “The Indian government will protect the interests of the one crore Indians living there (in Nepal)". According to the recent census, Nepal’s total population is around 30 million. If there are ten million Indian population, the presence of the Indian population is already one-third, which is very high. The Nepal government, under the Indian leaders’ pressure, has rewarded millions of Indian nationals with Nepali citizenshi­p in different periods. However, the flow of migration of Indian nationals has not been stopped.

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