KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 11
CPN-UML leader Yogesh Bhattarai today said that his party's view on the Millennium Challenge Corporation Agreement was that it should be ratified by the Parliament only after some amendments as suggested by the taskforce of the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
The NCP had formed a taskforce under former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal, which had submitted a report saying that the MCC agreement signed with the United States should be passed only after some amendments are made to the agreement.
"This means some provisions of the MCC agreement should be reinterpreted and be made to conform with Nepal's interests," Bhattarai said. "We still stick to our party's decision, but before we take a call, we will see what the government and ruling coalition partners' views are on the issue," Bhattarai added.
Vice-president of MCC Compact Operation Fatema Z Sumar had recently written to the finance minister clarifying that the agreement signed in 2017 could not be amended at this time.
Bhattarai said his party condemned the way the replacement bill was bulldozed in the House of Representatives yesterday.
"We were opposing the role of the speaker in facilitating the split in our party, but instead of talking to us, the government and the speaker moved ahead with parliamentary proceedings in the HoR, Bhattarai said and added that the speaker and the government would be responsible if anything untoward happened in the House.
He said the government had dropped some popular development related programmes that his party had earlier incorporated in the budget brought through ordinance.
In response to a journalist's query, Bhattarai said the UML was a responsible opposition committed to peaceful protest and would direct its lawmakers tomorrow how they should protest in the House. Some UML lawmakers had jumped over security personnel yesterday in their bid to reach the rostrum.
Bhattarai said his party also urged the government not to use force against people who were protesting (against the MCC project) on the street. UML also urged the public to protest peacefully.
A Standing Committee meeting of the UML held here today rescheduled its Statute Convention for October 1 to 3. Earlier the party had decided to hold its Statute Convention from September 20 to 22.
Around 3,000 representatives comprising members and office bearers of the party's central committee, various departments, provincial committees and district committees will take part in the convention.
Bhattarai said 10 per cent of representatives would be nominated by the Central Committee.
As per the UML statute, members of the National Representatives Council used to participate in Statute Convention, but this body was not formed after the UML's last General Convention.
So, the party amended its stature removing the hurdle to hold the Statute Convention.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 12 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
