KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 10
Nepali Congress leaders who spoke at the party's executive committee meeting today underlined the need for securing parliamentary ratification of Millennium Challenge Corporation Nepal Compact under which the US will grant Nepal $500 million for infrastructure development.
NC leader Ram Sharan Mahat briefed party leaders at length about the benefits of the grant.
NC Spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat told mediapersons after the meeting that they were of the view that indecision should not be allowed on the MCC compact.
Mahat said there was a deliberate campaign to spread misinformation against the MCC compact. He claimed that if it was tabled in the House of Representatives, it would be passed by an overwhelming majority.
Asked about Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota's unwillingness to table the compact in the House, the NC spokesperson said the speaker's role was clearly defined in laws and he should not choose to table one proposal and ignore another.
Mahat said that the joint letter written by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-MC Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal to the MCC indicated their commitment to ratify it within five months (before February 28).
Acting CEO of MCC Mahmoud Bah wrote a letter to Deuba and Dahal earlier this month, warning them that Nepal could lose $500 million grant if the government did not get the compact ratified through the Parliament by February 28.
According to NC leader Shashank Koirala, party leaders were of the view that there were no strings attached to the MCC compact and it should be ratified by the Parliament as it would expedite development of electricity and connectivity infrastructure.
Asked if parliamentary ratification of the MCC compact would lead to the dismantling of the ruling coalition, as two coalition partners - the CPN-MC and the CPN (Unified Socialist) -- were against its ratification without amendment, Koirala said they did not discuss the fate of the coalition. He said he told party leaders that the NC should not contest the forthcoming local elections on its own.
Meanwhile, Deuba today held a meeting with Dahal and CPN (Unified Socialist) Chair Madhav Kumar Nepal on contemporary political issues. The PM's Chief Personal Secretary Bhanu Deuba said ruling alliance leaders decided to discuss the MCC compact after intra-party meetings. "Ruling alliance partners have yet to narrow down their differences on the MCC compact," Bhanu Deuba added.
Meanwhile, the CPN-MC postponed its party meeting scheduled for today.
CPN-MC leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha said the meeting was put off keeping in mind the flurry of meetings between political leaders (on MCC compact).
A version of this article appears in the print on February 11, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
