Maoist Center to leave ruling coalition if MCC is tabled at parliament

Published On: February 16, 2022 12:31 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Feb 16: CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that the party will leave the ruling alliance and the government if the MCC compact agreement is tabled at parliament for ratification. Chairman Dahal reached Baluwatar to meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba directly after attending the parliamentary party meeting of his party held at Singha Durbar today.

It is said that Dahal had left for PM Deuba’s residence to stop him from tabling the US-funded Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact agreement at the parliament meeting.

In the meeting, Chairman Dahal said that he would urge the PM not to table the MCC as consensus on ratifying the project has not been made among the coalition partners.

The parliamentary party meeting of CPN (Maosit Center) has decided to oppose the MCC if it is tabled in parliament.

According to Dev Prasad Gurung, the party's chief whip, the CPN (Maoist Center) has decided that the MCC project cannot be passed by parliament without amending it. He said that if the MCC project was to move forward, a national consensus had to be reached among the political parties. He clarified that no agenda can move forward without the smooth functioning of the House while the main opposition party CPN-UML has been obstructing House sessions. He also urged the main opposition to keep the house session running smoothly.

Chief Whip Gurung said that the alliance would break automatically if the MCC project was passed by parliament without the consent of the ruling party. He said that the Maoists would leave the central government if the MCC was taken forward by breaking the alliance. He said, "If the government tries to force it, now it is time for the government to break the alliance."

After breaking the alliance, it may not be possible to remain in the government, he said. “As for what I said about leaving the government, we cannot have a decision of the government without the consent of the five parties and without the decision of the five parties,” he added.

The parliament meeting has been called for 1 PM today. On Tuesday, the NC asserted that the MCC is in favor of Nepal and clarified that there would be no intervention from the US military in the country. The ruling party has decided to vote in favor of ratifying the MCC compact agreement.