KATHMANDU: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chairman Rabi Lamichhane opposed the verification of the Citizenship Bill on Wednesday.

President Ramchandra Paudel approved the Citizenship Bill at the request of the Cabinet meeting today.

Chairman Lamichhane said that this step, taken without discussion in the Parliament, was against democratic parliamentary values and national interest.

“Even though it has been 6 months since the new parliament was formed with the new mandate, to get the Citizenship Bill validated without discussing it in the parliament is against the dignity of an honorable institution like the president, democratic parliamentary values, and against the national interest,” the RSP Chairman said.

The then President Bidya Devi Bhandari had not certified the bill despite getting it passed twice by the previous parliament. However, President Paudel, at the request of the government, authenticated the Bill on Wednesday.