By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel At present, the office of the President and the government are at odds. The reason for their discontent is not big. It is simple. Nepal Citizenship Act 2006 (first amendment) Bill.  It is reported that President Bidya Devi Bhandari returned the Nepal Citizenship Bill  2006 (first amendment) to the federal parliament but both the houses ignored her suggestions and re-endorsed it as it is. The media reports say that the President put forth 15 concerns and suggestions but her message was given short shrift by both the houses dominated by the five-party alliances in the government. This is not the first time the citizenship issue has drawn attention from all quarters. The citizenship issue has been dragging on for more than five decades in Nepal.  We have a very poor track record of distributing citizenship certificates by amending the citizenship right before the election. Be it Nepali Congress, CPN-UML or Maoist, they have always attempted to make the citizenship issue their major agenda right before the election. Over 600,000 citizenship certificates were distributed right before the first election to the constituent assembly in 2008 by amending the interim constitution. The certificates were distributed through two campaigns - one involving the mobile teams and the integrated citizenship distribution campaign. According to the amended constitution, anyone born or living permanently in Nepal before Mid April 1990 was eligible to have a citizenship certificate. Nearly after 14 years, the issue of citizenship has been haunting the Nepalese across the country. Just a few days ago, the federal government endorsed the 1st amendment 2022 to the Nepal Citizenship Act 2006. If media reports are any guide, more than 600,000 citizenship certificates are expected to be distributed nationwide. There are apprehensions that the government is intensifying its effort to distribute citizenship certificates to ensure its vote bank. No knowledgeable person would disagree that the amendment was not made based on the constitution of Nepal 2015. They will also not make any unnecessary comments as it has been amended in line with the constitution of Nepal 2015. But what astonishes one is that why the previous cut-off year is extended from Mid April 1990 to 20 September 15, 2015 Every country has its own policies, regulation and criteria as to who is entitled to its citizenship. It makes its laws and regulation that fits it. Many countries offer naturalization within a certain period based on the marriage of a person to a citizen. States also grant naturalized citizenship to people who have entered the country legally and been granted a permit to stay, or been granted political asylum, and lived there for a specified period. In our case, the situation is just the opposite. Our laws and policies are influenced by external actors with a diabolic agenda. Given the tendency of our politicians who are easily lured by some exotic gift hampers, the external actors succeed in implementing their sinister agenda to weaken our country. The Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006 (First Amendment, 2022) endorsed by parliament has followed basic norms and spirit of the Constitution. After long discussions in the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of parliament last year, the citizenship amendment bill was forwarded to the House of Representatives, by incorporating the provision of a seven-year waiting period for obtaining naturalized citizenship for foreign women married to Nepalis. It also said a separate identity card should be issued until they receive Nepali citizenship for all other essential purposes except voting and political rights. This is what has been followed in almost all countries of the world. Geographically, the population of Tarai, which was 13.3 million 18 thousand in 2011, reached 15.6 million 65 thousand in 2021, increasing from 50.27% to 53.66% within 10 years. During the same period, the population of the mountain region, which was 1.781 million, has come down to 1.778 million, decreasing from 6.73% to 6.09%. The population of the hill region which was 11.394 million in 2011 increased to 11.78 million. However, its percentage in the national share decreased from 43.01% to 40.25% within 10 years. The population in the country’s Tarai region is continuously increasing as a result of the migration of people from the hills of Nepal as well as the open entry of immigrants from India. This amendment to the Citizenship Act may bring more demographic shifts in the already imbalanced population structures between the hill and Tarai of Nepal. Nepal has already faced a devastating decade-long conflict destroying physical infrastructure - both rural and urban. It killed many people and forcefully disappeared even more. The great majority of their families are impatiently waiting to know their whereabouts. The growing imbalance in the demographic shift as a result of such an irrelevant move can create a negative impact on the country in the long run. This is not to say that we should not adopt changes and move with the changing times. This is also not to say that a genuine citizen should be denied rights for his/her caste, ethnicity and geographical background. But the utmost care should be given that such provisions give the upper hand to non-deserving while the deserving one is left out.