KATHMANDU, JULY 15

The House of Representatives meeting today approved with the majority the proposal seeking consideration on the 'Nepal Citizenship (First Amendment) Bill-2022'.

Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota had presented the proposal at the meeting.

The Lower House of the Federal Parliament continued discussions on the principles of the Citizenship Bill today.

Taking part in the deliberations on the proposal, the lawmakers said no citizen should be deprived of the right of obtaining the citizenship and it should be ensured that no non-Nepali gets it either.

Pushpa Bhusal Gautam said the eligible citizens who had not got their citizenship for long would be able to get it after the passage of the bill from the Parliament. She drew the government's attention towards creating an environment in which a citizen will be able to get his/her citizenship without any unnecessary hassles.

Jaya Kumar Rai asserted that it was the constitutional right of the citizen to get the citizenship certificate.

Narayan Prasad Marasini supported the provision of providing citizenship to the NRNs on economic, social and cultural ground.

Shiva Kumar Mandal stated that citizens deprived of citizenship have felt relief with the introduction of the bill by the government.

Bina Kumari Shrestha said the bill had no provisions in regard to the sexual and gender minorities and therefore it was discriminatory.

Purna Kumari Subedi stressed that the non-Nepali should not be provided the citizenship while the bonafide Nepali citizen should not be deprived of their right to citizenship.

Sanjaya Kumar Gautam opined that the government had by bringing the citizenship bill, provided relief to the citizens deprived of their citizenship, while Sarala Kumari Yadav said the government brought a new bill by withdrawing the old one so that no Nepali citizen would be stateless.

Pramila Rai drew the government's attention to provide the citizenship certificates to the bona fide Nepali citizens without any discrimination.

Pabitra Niraula Kharel said the sons and daughters of many Nepalis had been deprived of their right to education and employment opportunities due to a lack of citizenship.

Binda Pandey protested that this bill was not in consonance with the provision related to citizenship mentioned in the constitution and therefore it was against the right to equality.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 16, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.