CPN lawmaker Bhim Rawal has said the government in trying to pass the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) through the backdoor.
“It seems the MCC is trying to come from the backdoor,” Rawal said participating in the discussion on the government’s policy and programs in the House on Monday. “Nepali Congress (NC) leader has hinted so. He had said similar things even at the time of Mahakali Treaty.”
NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday had stated that the MCC should be passed to implement the decision of past government.
“Passing the MCC will be against national interest. We cannot exchange independence for money,” Rawal fumed.
The ruling CPN is divided on the issue of MCC.
CPN had hotly debated MCC during the standing committee meeting in December 2019 with the erstwhile Maoists and those from Madhav Kumar Nepal faction opposing it saying it should only be passed if it becomes clear that it is not part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy floated by America.
The US embassy in Kathmandu later issued a 10-point statement clarifying that the MCC is not part of military affairs.
The press statement, which it said was in response to a large number of queries from Nepali citizens, politicians, and members of the media about the MCC, claimed that every Nepali government since 2012 has been in favor of the MCC and that there is no military component to the compact.
The issue was raised even during the central committee meeting that concluded on February 2 and the party formed a task force to address the issue. The party formed the task force led by senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal and including Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali and standing committee member Bhim Rawal as members on February 2 to study MCC to find out whether it is part of the American military strategy or not.
The task force recommended that it should not be endorsed without amendment.
