By Our Political Analyst
President Bidya Devi Bhandari did not certify the Citizenship Bill for the second time. Constitutionally, the President has to certify the bill endorsed by both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly for the second time, she dared not to do that.
Her act could invite a tussle between the government and the President although those patriotic forces who were against such a controversial Bill have commended the President’s present action. It will also provide an election issue to the CPN-UML, as the President held the Bill at the suggestion of the UML. Her act will be hailed as bold by the nationalist groups in the country.
The President did not certify it showing that the term of the House expired. However, the Bill had reached her 12 days before the term of the House expired. Anyway, after consultations with a wide range of people including constitutional experts and Nepal Army officials, the President decided not to certify the Bill.
She had already sent it back to the Parliament after holding it for 15 days, and when the House reinforced it as it was, she was angry and held it.
The controversial Bill has the provision for granting Nepali citizenship certificates instantly to those foreign wives married to Nepali citizens. Even in India, one should wait for seven years to start the citizenship acquiring process after marrying an Indian national.
The Indian Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, an Italian, didn’t get the opportunity to become the prime minister of India just because she was a foreign lady. However, the Indians are putting pressure on the Nepali leaders for granting all kinds of rights to those naturalized citizenship holders.
The Cholendra episode and constitution day
The nation observed the 7th Constitution Day on Monday amidst an illusion among the executive, legislature and judiciary on the issue of practising the constitution, which is itself like abstract art.
On the day when the government officials and political leaders were observing the constitution day at the Nepal Army Pavilion, suspended chief justice Cholendra Rana was under house arrest.
Maybe, Cholendra S Rana is a bad person, the fact is that he has become the chief justice under the existing system. He faced an impeachment case but the House neglected to complete the case within three months and the case was reactivated only after six months, that too, on the eve of the dissolving of the House of Representatives. The House has dissolved without finalizing the case against suspended CJ Rana. The real intention of the five parties in the alliance government was to suspend Rana and stop him from assuming office as the chief justice as he could be harmful to the government. The government’s intention makes clear that it wants a government-friendly court, therefore, when CJ Rana, after the dissolution of Parliament, decided to return office, it became a serious challenge for the government. To stop him from going to the office, the government deployed a security force keeping him under house arrest. Such an act of the government has made the constitution a joke.
Rana, when he was interrogated by a parliament committee for investigation on the case, raised many serious errors made by the government. In the meantime, he has disclosed the fact behind the registration of the impeachment case that when the case on the Lalita Niwas land scam was forwarded for the court’s consideration and when the case against the MPs quitting the UML was brought under the court’s consideration, he had faced the impeachment case. Rana is right to say why the SC has kept pending both the cases after his suspension following the impeachment case against him.
Such an act against a sitting CJ is a serious violation of the House’s prerogatives. Besides, it is evidence that the present system, imposed by foreigners is not functional.
The system has become a football for the political leaders in power. They can define and use the system as per their interests and the individual whim of the political leaders. There is no check and balance mechanism which is also an example of anarchism and autocracy among the political leaders in power.
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