Ruling alliance meeting today as govt plans tabling MCC in parliament

KATHMANDU, Feb 20: A meeting of the ruling alliance is scheduled for 10 AM on Sunday.

The ruling alliance has been holding a series of meetings to forge a consensus regarding the MCC as the alliance is largely divided on the issue.

The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and a faction of Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP)-led by Babu Ram Bhattarai want the MCC to be ratified but the CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (US) and the other half of JSP-led by Upendra Yadav are opposing the MCC.

As the deadline of the compact ratification nears, the government of Nepal is compelled to ratify it through parliament as the United States of America (USA) has already announced to review its diplomatic ties with Nepal in case of failure of ratifying the compact.

The key leaders of the alliance are busy holding discussions and doing their best to reach a conclusion regarding the $500 million American grant as the government is preparing to table the compact in parliament any time soon.