 |
|
It is learnt the Seven Party Alliance government has passed the new citizenship bill and they are ready to present it in the House of Representatives for turning it into an act. And the House, which has no opposition, is supposed to pass it into law without much fuss, almost unanimously and without delay. What could be a greater misfortune for the country that such an historic bill that has all the potentials of changing the character of the nation is being put to vote in such a rush in a House that has no constitutional validity and that has practically no opposition. If it is the people who have given the mandate to the House, let the people rise again and withdraw the mandate that is being used by the proxy government against the interest of the nation. The people have to see and realize that the SPA government has not only outlived its lifespan but also betrayed the confidence of the people. Indeed, all genuine Nepalis have the birthright to become citizens of the country and a large number of people, mostly living in the southern belt contiguous to a foreign country, have been denied this right for a long time. It is sheer injustice and must be redressed at the earliest. But the geopolitical constraints of Nepal too, cannot and should not be overlooked. The open border with no restrictions whatsoever, millions of people on either side of the international border criss-crossing for centuries with no record, at all, how many came and how many stayed behind demands a thorough debate all over the country on this issue. With a giant neighbor with a population of 1.2 billion, a small country like Nepal will be totally swamped in no time, in the changed context and experience , if proper care and safeguard is not taken. Doesn’t such an act of SPA government and the forcibly reinstated House of Representatives generate undeniable misgiving that they are acting under some kind of pressure they are unable to duck? Such a citizenship act imperatively needs the concurrence of the whole nation. A small section of discredited politicians neither can have the mandate nor the authority to enact such a law, which ultimately can take the country towards disintegration. What a great pity that even the House does not have one true patriotic politician who can raise his/her voice against such an anti-national behavior. How can they sit quiet when the country might confront total annihilation in the coming days? As such, it has become indispensable that all patriotic Nepalis did raise their voices in unison against such behavior of the government. There is no time for procrastination. Even our brothers and sisters living in the south, who are themselves struggling to acquire their birth right, must rise against such an anti-national bill. Since every Nepali may lose his identity if this bill is passed, it is high time all the Nepalis came together and prevented such an unpatriotic bill from being presented to the House. Whether a politician or a layman, a farmer or a trader, a businessman or an industrialist, a bureaucrat or a security forces personnel, a civil society member or an intellectual, it is the real time they all sank their differences and joined hands to defend the integrity of the country by opposing this bill. Is their memory so short that they have forgotten what happened to Sikkim ? Haven’t they read the writings on the wall for the last fifty-nine years? Can’t they see through the Grand Design? What a shame King Gyanendra has no authority when he needed it most? Isn’t this his own doing? Hasn’t the country come to this dangerous situation because of his failure? Why are the Maoist leaders also quiet? Are they too in the same bandwagon like the SPA? Don’t they realize the consequences of this bill? This is a time when every Nepali will show his real character whether he or she is a quisling or a patriot. As such, we will, once again, appeal to the wisdom of the SPA leaders to give second thoughts to the citizenship bill and not do anything in haste. They must be able to foresee that this bill will never be passed. So, why antagonize the patriotic Nepalis? We want them to become as patriotic as the rest of us. But, we cannot help if they choose to become proxies or vassals. Anyway, we will not let them endanger the integrity of our poor nation. Since we still possess the last arrow in our quiver, the “Ram baan”, we are pretty confident the quislings cannot harm the poor small country. And our Ram baan is our Supreme Court. We do appeal to the conscience of our Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court to rise to the occasion and use their power and authority to issue an injunction to the SPA government, if necessary, to withdraw the citizenship bill till a properly elected House of Representatives under a new constitution starts functioning. We know our Supreme Court justices are neither proxies, nor vassals nor quislings. They all are honorable and patriotic Nepalis and will never let down their people and their beloved motherland. We also exhort our real good friendly neighbors and other friends to rally behind all the poor patriotic Nepalis and help them in their distress by using their good offices to advise the SPA government to desist from their mad behavior. Even more important than this citizenship bill for Nepal , if she wants to preserve her independent identity, is to close the international border without delay. And as long the border is not closed, there can be no change in status quo. So, let the SPA government start working in that direction.
|
