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Amending citizenship-related laws has never been easy. Diverse opinion among the political parties and stakeholders always complicates the process. Most recently, the amendment bill to the Citizenship Act had been pending in the House of Representatives for two years. Looming elections may have prompted the five-party ruling coalition to ditch that and table a new one. The ruling coalition fast-tracked the parliamentary endorsement process and forwarded the bills to the president for authentication. Usually, the president does not censure such bills. But in a rare move, President Bidya Devi Bhandari returned the bill to Parliament, raising concerns over some of its provisions. Questions can be raised over the President’s intent as some of her past decisions were motivated by her political inclinations but on this occasion her decision cannot be termed unconstitutional. Article 113(2) of the constitution allows her to do so. But irrespective of what has happened, the issue of citizenship is a sensitive one and major political stakeholders must now refrain from politicizing it—elections or no elections. The ruling parties made a mistake by fast-tracking the bill’s endorsement instead of holding intensive discussions on it in parliament as well as in public. Lawmakers had filed dozens of amendment proposals, all of which were sidelined. The president’s move has now given them another opportunity to correct their earlier error. Time has come for sober reflection. The ruling and opposition parties need to sit down and find an amicable solution. Their common goal should be to ensure that every eligible citizen gets citizenship without hassles, and without any kind of discrimination based on gender, identity or orientation. The bill sent by the president with her suggestions has already been tabled in the HoR. If parties are honest and mindful of national interest, they can easily find a compromise because they know what is the right thing to do. Just heed the larger public opinion on citizenship which is increasingly accommodative rather than restrictive. The question is: can our major parties for once rise above partisan interests and cynical electoral politics?

Five persons died when a jeep met with an accident at Ullani in Shailyashikhar Rural Municipality-6 of Darchula on Wednesday. Police said that four men and a woman died in the jeep (Se 1 Ja 551) accident. Shailyashikhar Rural Municipality-6 Secretary Manohar Dhami said that a team from the Area Police Office, Gokuleshwor has reached the incident site to carry out an investigation.

Nepal reported 852 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 3, 876 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 531 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 507 people underwent antigen tests, of which 321 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 328 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 5, 462 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 0. 36 points to close at 2,040.70 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0. 28 points to close at 394. 67 points. A total of 3,497,881 unit shares of 220 companies were traded for Rs 1. 40 billion. Meanwhile, Swet-Ganga Hydropower and Construction Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10 percent. Likewise, Samling Power Company Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 5. 14 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 93 trillion.  

A clash ensued between police personnel and locals at Banchare Danda on Wednesday. The clash erupted after the police tried to take the trucks carrying garbage to the landfill site by escorting amid protest from the locals. Nuwakot police have taken a person under control for trying to obstruct the vehicles. Police spokesperson Rupak Khadaka said that Dipesh Karki has been arrested for trying to stop the garbage carrying trucks from reaching the landfill site. The locals have been staging protests after the government started dumping garbage forcefully in Banchare Danda.  

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said that the five-party alliance will continue till the elections. He said so during a program organized in the Capital on Wednesday. Minister Karki was of the opinion that the coalition is necessary to make the country prosperous. He said that there is a plan to make the country prosperous within the next 10 years by using water resources, tourism and the agricultural sector.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 500 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 96, 200 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 96, 700 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 95, 700 per tola. It was traded at Rs 96, 200. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,210 per tola today.

Nepali Congress General Secretary Bishwo Prakash Sharma has announced to contest the upcoming election from his home district Jhapa. He is going to contest the election from Jhapa-1. Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Sharma said he would contest the election from Jhapa. Rumors were doing rounds that he would contest the election from Kathmandu-5. In the election held in 2017, Sharma lost to  Ram Karki of CPN (Maoist Center). Karki defeated Sharma by 2,863 votes. Former Information Minister Karki acquired 36,173 votes while Sharma received 33,310 votes. The government has decided to hold the federal and provincial elections on November 20.