Kathmandu: Following the agreement among top leaders of the ruling alliance parties, Nepal’s parliament is discussing the much-debated Compact. In the deliberations, some leaders have changed their tone while others are portraying ‘interpretative declaration’ as their victory. Here’s a synopsis of what Nepal’s leaders said in the parliament about the Compact:
Jhalanath Khanal, CPN-Unified Socialist
The ratification of the MCC compact will impact China. The US is trying to do politics in Nepal through the Compact.
Mahanta Thakur, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party
The United States has been helping Nepal for 70 years as a development partner. US’s help is visible in every sector. This help has arrived as a grant.
Dev Gurung, CPN(Maoist Center)
The compact should be taken positively because of the ‘interpretative declaration’ which is to be presented along with the Compact. The US law would prevail over Nepal’s law in the initial state. We have been saying that this type of agreement could not be implemented without amendment. We have heard of issuing an interpretive declaration to amend such a provision. This is a positive step.
Metmani Chaudhary, CPN(Unified Socialist)
The MCC compact is not only an economic aid. Military strategy is also attached to it.
Prem Suwal, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party
The US will not accept the ‘interpretative declaration’ prepared by the ruling coalition. Therefore the Compact needs to be rejected.
Baburam Bhattarai, Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal
Those who had put their efforts to bring the MCC compact should not create a hullabaloo in parliament. They should not oppose it now as they once were in the forefront of pushing the Compact in the past.
Rajendra Lingden, Rastriya Prajatantra Party
The MCC should be postponed immediately to forge a national consensus. MCC should be finalized afterward.
Giriraj Mani Pokharel, CPN-Maoist Center
The agreement should be on an equal basis. The parliament cannot change any provision of the agreement. A country can be big or small but sovereignty is equal. Through this compact, there is an apparent attempt to make our parliament a rubber stamp in favor of the MCC. There are many provisions that insult us. If ratified, foreign companies will run a parallel government in Nepal. Intellectuals have not compared this compact with the East India Company without bases. It is also heard that there are more than a dozen supplementary and secret agreements. Should not the government provide all these agreements and letters to the parliament? Let us learn from Ukraine’s war.
Minendra Rijal, Nepali Congress
There are rumors. Nepali Congress has shown enough flexibility. PM Sher Bahadur Deuba has shown flexibility in the case of the MCC compact. Let us not do politics in the name of the compact. Half of the leaders are opposing the compact while half of the leaders are supporting it. Let us show the minimum morality by not playing with duplicity. Let us take support from BRI, India, and other countries too. Let us not make the country an isolated island.
Hridayas Tripathi, People’s Progressive Party
Nepal is a sovereign country. We can take grants, loans,s and other support from any country. Due to the debate on MCC, our credibility has been questioned by the international communities. We are calling imperialism to those who are offering us grants. They have put this provision of parliamentary ratification due to our own working style. It is very good to have a parliamentary ratification provision, otherwise, this compact would have never started. We should take a grant. We need to complete this project on time.
Gagan Thapa, Nepali Congress
The reality is that Nepal’s domestic resources are not even enough for recurrent expenditure. We need everyone’s support. Let’s ratify the Compact. After MCC’s ratification, let’s ask China to provide $ 700 million, saying the United States gave us $ 500 million. Then let’s ask India for $ 800 million, saying China gave us $ 700 million.
Janardan Sharma, Finance Minister and Maoist leader
The government will answer all questions regarding the MCC compact through interpretative declaration. There cannot be any agreement above the constitution and the government will not compromise on this part. The government does not take part in any military alliance either.
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