The House meeting called for Friday has once again been postponed for Sunday on request of the government.
Speaker Agni Sapkota has postponed the meeting on request of Law Minister Dilendra Prasad Badu. The meeting originally scheduled for Thursday to discuss the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact, that was tabled in the House for ratification on Sunday, was earlier postponed for Friday also on request of the government.
Ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has reportedly called for postponement of the House meeting fearing that CPN (Maoist Center) may seek voting on endorsement in principle after discussion against parliamentary practice.
Speaker has to submit the MCC Compact for approval in principle after the discussion is completed and the government provides answers to the questions raised during the discussion. Such approval is generally given through voice vote as the government always has majority in the House. The speaker then sends the motion or bill for clause-wise discussion before it is presented for final decision.
But the situation is different now as Maoist Center and CPN (Unified Socialist), that are in the ruling coalition, have already decided to vote against the MCC Compact.
The House of Representatives (HoR) regulation allows 10 percent of lawmakers to seek voting even after deliberation in principle. The 10 percent threshold comes out at 28 since the total strength of the House is 275.
That provision in the regulation is seldom exercised as the government always has majority in the House and Chief Whip of NC Pushpa Bhusal pointed that it has never been used in parliamentary history of Nepal since 1990s.
But NC fears that Maoist Center may demand voting for endorsing it in principle thereby and get it rejected preventing clause-wise discussion on the MCC Compact and its presentation for final decision.
The government, has, therefore, called for postponement of the House meeting hoping to muster majority either through alliance with the main opposition CPN-UML or with Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) and Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) if UML provides guarantee to not vote against the MCC Compact to ensure that it is not rejected immediately after deliberation in principle.
The ruling coalition is divided on the issue of MCC Compact that was tabled on insistence of Nepali Congress (NC). Maoist Center and Unified Socialist have already decided to vote against the MCC Comapct.
Federal Council Chairman of JSP Baburam Bhattarai has been vocally supporting the MCC Compact and criticizing Maoist Center and Unified Socialist for opposing it but Yadav is silent on the issue.
PM Deuba has recently intensified consultations with CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and is apparently ready to break the ruling coalition and form a new one with UML to get the MCC Compact ratified.
