December 15: The conflicting views among political parties regarding the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement and the continued obstruction of parliament have made the chances of MCC ratification slimmer. The parliament session which resumed from Tuesday (December 14) was obstructed again by the main opposition party CPN UML. 

The meeting of the UML parliamentary party held before the start of the parliament session could not reach a conclusion about the MCC. The meeting decided to make public the party’s official stance only after the MCC grant agreement is presented in the parliament, according to Bishal Bhattarai, a UML leader.

The meeting of the CPN-Maoist parliamentary party also could not take any concrete decision. Instead, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the party, briefed about recent political issues. According to Maoist lawmaker Rekha Sharma, Chairman Dahal also presented his opinions on the US-funded project. Dahal said MCC would not be tabled in the House without reaching consensus among the parties. 

She further said that the Maoist party is committed to its previous position on MCC. “We won’t support it until and unless the provisions against national interests are amended,” reiterated Dahal. While the US is pushing for MCC's early approval, the issue has not been discussed by the Nepali Congress which is preoccupied with the party’s general convention.

The MCC was expected to be ratified on Tuesday itself since the parliament session was called on the same day the board meeting of MCC was scheduled in Washington DC. During his recent visit, Donald Lu, US Assistant Secretary of State, had suggested to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to take a decision on MCC before the MCC board meeting. 

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been reiterating that the MCC should be approved by the parliament. He has assured MCC Vice President Fatima Sumar, who visited Nepal in September, Alexia Latortu, MCC's Deputy Chief Executive Officer in Glasgow, and Lu that the agreement would be ratified. However, Deuba has not been able to make any headway due to lack of agreement among the ruling coalition. The Nepali Congress and the Maoists, who were in power when the MCC was signed, are again the key partners of the current government. 

Parliament obstruction continues

In the first meeting of the 10th session of the House of Representatives held on December 14, Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota urged the lawmakers not to obstruct the house session but the lawmakers of the main opposition party UML continued their protest. Despite the obstruction, six ordinances were tabled in the lower house meeting.