KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 25

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has intensified talks with both the ruling coalition partners and the main opposition CPN-UML to secure parliamentary ratification of the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact that Nepal has signed with the United States. The PM went to UML Chair KP Sharma Oli's residence today and held talks with Oli and other senior leaders of the party.

Deuba's move to reach out to the main opposition party's leader is being interpreted as his determination to secure parliamentary ratification of the MCC compact, risking a split in the ruling coalition if the two coalition partners- CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist that have threatened to vote against the MCC compact, continued to object to the $500 million MCC compact.

CPN-UML leader Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said their talks did not yield any concrete result, but the PM showed seriousness in raising the need for the NC and the UML - the two major parties that fought for democracy - to speak in one voice on major policy issues.

In a rebuke to CPN-MC and CPN-Unified Socialist, Gyawali said, 'The MCC compact is merely an issue between Nepal and the USA, but due to some coalition partners' irresponsible act, it has now become a geopolitical issue and the country has been vertically polarised on it.

Sister wings of CPN-MC and CPN-US have been agitating against the MCC deal, whereas these two parties continue to be partners in the Deuba-led government.

Gyawali said since some leaders were holding the Parliament hostage to suit their interests, fresh election was the only solution. 'If the PM decides to go for early elections, we will support him,' Gyawali added.

He said the UML had not put any condition about seeking any role in the government. He said the UML urged the PM to address its demands: the speaker should either confirm expulsion of 14 former UML lawmakers or resign from his post. He said if these demands were met, his party could take part in House meetings and would also make its stance clear on the MCC compact.

Gyawali hoped that the PM would present a concrete plan to address his party's demands in the next round of talks.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, who was also present in the Deuba-Oli meeting, told mediapersons after the meeting that all sides should be ready to move towards resolving major issues.

Karki said he did not believe that the UML, which had registered the MCC compact in the HoR, could stand against it.

Earlier, CPN-MC Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN-US Chair Madhav Kumar Nepal met the PM and urged him to try his best to keep the ruling coalition intact. This morning CPN-MC leaders decided to find a middle path on the MCC compact.

Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota postponed the House of Representatives meeting today, as the government sought more time to forge consensus on the MCC compact.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 26, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.