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CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Janata Pragatisheel Party Chairman Hridayesh Tripathi held a meeting on Monday. Tripathi reached Balkot, Bhaktapur this afternoon and proposed Oli for electoral alliance. Earlier, Tripathi, who had won the election to the House of Representatives with the CPN-UML's election symbol- Sun, urged Oli to contest the upcoming elections by forging an alliance. He had separated from the then Janata Samajbadi Party in 2017 and formed a new party. Tripathi said that he held discussions on contemporary political issues with Oli. It has been learnt that the duo also discussed the Citizenship Bill which was sent back to the House of Representatives by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday for reconsideration.

The prime minister on Monday pledged to work with vigor to turn poverty-ridden India into a developed country in the next 25 years, Associated Press reported.

Wearing a flowing, cream-colored turban printed with small stripes of orange, white and green, Narendra Modi addressed the country from New Delhi’s 17th-century Mughal-era Red Fort to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s independence from British rule.

Modi said the world’s view of India was changing and it was looking toward the country to help resolve global issues.

President Joe Biden in a statement celebrating Indian Independence Day said the United States and India are indispensable partners, and their partnership is grounded in a shared commitment to the rule of law and the promotion of human freedom and dignity.

Biden said he was confident that “the two countries will continue to stand together to defend the rules-based order; foster greater peace, prosperity and security for our people; advance a free and open Indo-Pacific; and together address the challenges we face around the world.”

Modi said India will be guided by the ideals of self-reliance and the spirit of international partnership to attain excellence in science and technology, set up industries, and attain food and energy security. He said billions of dollars in investment were flowing into the country turning it into a manufacturing hub.

India’s efforts have already launched the country of 1.4 billion people into the ranks of leading countries in information technology, pharmacy, space science and civil nuclear energy, according to Associated Press.

Modi said millions of people across the country were commemorating the 75th anniversary of independence by hoisting orange, white and green national flags at their homes and businesses for three days as part of a government campaign “of awakening the spirit of patriotism in every heart.”

India’s Parliament House, the presidential palace, national monuments and other government offices blaze with multi-colored lighting.

Modi said the journey of the past 75 years had seen ups and downs with India battling against all odds with resilience and perseverance. He asked people to remove any trace of colonial mindset.

The main opposition Congress party accused the Modi government of leaving opposition parties out of celebrations.

“There were special functions in Parliament’s historic Central Hall to mark the 25th, 50th and 60th anniversary of India’s independence,” said Jairam Ramesh, an India National Congress party spokesperson. “Sadly, nothing like that has been organized for the 75th anniversary, which has been reduced to an occasion to glorify the Sarvagyaani,” using a term meaning “a person who knows all” in reference to Modi.

In his 80-minute speech, Modi made no reference to India’s tense ties with immediate neighbors Pakistan and China, nor any steps to improve relations.

He called for people’s unity to move forward but didn’t respond to experts and critics who say the country has been gradually departing from some commitments and argue the backsliding has accelerated since Modi came to power in 2014. They accuse his populist government of using unbridled political power to undermine democratic freedoms and preoccupying itself with pursuing a Hindu nationalist agenda, Associated Press reported.

Modi pledged to fight corruption and nepotism in the country’s politics, which he said were acting as termites eating away the gains of development.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met Monday with a delegation of US Congress members in a further sign of support among American lawmakers for the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory, Associated Press reported.

Taiwanese media showed the delegation arriving for the talks, but details of the meeting were not immediately released. 

It comes less than two weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which prompted days of threatening military exercises by China, including the firing of missiles over the island and into the Taiwan Strait. 

China has also sent warplanes and navy ships across the waterway’s median, which has long been a buffer between the sides that separated amid civil war in 1949. China regards formal contacts between US politicians and the island’s government as support for its independence from Beijing. 

China says it wants to use peaceful means to bring Taiwan under its control, but its recent saber rattling has emphasized its military threat.

The five-member delegation is led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and is to meet with other government and private sector representatives. Reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and investments in Taiwan’s crucial semiconductor industry are expected to be key topics of discussion, according to Associated Press.

The other members of the delegation are Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a delegate from American Samoa, and Democrats John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari sent the bill to amend the Citizenship Act back to the Parliament for reconsideration on Sunday.

Sagar Aryal, spokesperson at the President's office, said that the President sent the bill on Citizenship Act back to the Parliament citing that it needs reconsideration.

He said that the bill on Nepal Citizenship Act, 2063 was submitted before the President for the certification as per the Article 113 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal.

Earlier, the bill was endorsed from the Parliament as per the Article 113 (3) of the Constitution.