The ruling coalition has made arrangements to get the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact ratified without breaking the alliance.
A meeting of coalition leaders including Prime Minister (PM) Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal on Saturday has agreed to such arrangements.
The MCC Office has already told the government that the US$ 500 million MCC grant will be taken back if the House does not ratify the MCC Compact by February end. Maoist Center and Unified Socialist have been insisting that the MCC should not be passed without amendment even as the American government has stressed that there is no chance of amendment in the agreement.
The arrangement has been reached even as Nepali Congress (NC) started to explore the option of getting the MCC ratified with support of the main opposition CPN-UML in return for breaking the alliance with Maoist Center and Unified Socialist in the upcoming elections.
A top coalition leader told Setopati after Saturday's meeting that the MCC Compact will now be tabled in the House and endorsed by the majority of those present on the floor.
"We are looking for a win-win situation to ensure that the MCC is passed and the coalition also does not unravel. The ruling coalition has almost agreed to that regard," the leader revealed. "The lawmakers of parties who are against the MCC will boycott the proceedings. The MCC Compact will be ratified by the majority of those present in the House."
A Maoist Center leader elaborated that lawmakers of Maoist Center and Unified Socialist will protest once the MCC Compact is tabled in the House and will boycott the proceedings. The MCC Compact then will be ratififed by the majority of those present in the House.
A quorum of 25 percent of the total strength of the House is necessary to pass any bill or motion. Presence of 69 lawmakers, in this way, is necessary to constitute quorum in the 275-strong House of Representatives (HoR).
NC, with 61 lawmakers, is in favor of the MCC while ruling Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) and Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) in the opposition with 20 and 12 seats respectively are also in favor of the MCC Comapct.
Talking with journalists in Janakpur on Saturday LSP Chairman Mahantha Thakur stressed that there is no logic in opposing the MCC as it is purely a development project.
PM Deuba believes that the main opposition UML, which has been obstructing the House, will burn all its political capital ahead of the election if it were to attend the proceedings and then vote against the MCC Compact having publicly slammed Maoist Chairman Dahal for sabotaging the MCC Compact using Speaker Agni Sapkota, who was elected in the last general election on Maoist ticket, when KP Sharma Oli wanted to table the MCC in the House and get it endorsed when Oli was PM, and Oli and Dahal were two chairmen of the then ruling CPN.
The ruling coalition calculates that UML lawmakers will, therefore, either boycott the House proceedings or vote in support of the MCC Compact. The MCC Compact will be ratified in both the eventualities.
"Maoist and Unified Socialist lawmakers in this manner will not have to vote for the MCC Compact without amendment while the MCC Compact will be ratified as NC wants resulting in continuation of the coalition," the coalition leader explained.
