Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has said the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been opposed in an exaggerated and sponsored way.
Addressing a press meet organized by Press Organization Nepal Gulmi at Tamghas, the headquarters of Gulmi district, he claimed that people who even do not know the full form of MCC have started a smear campaign against it in the market.
Pointing that the government has signed the MCC Compact keeping the country's and people's interest at the center, he said nobody should attempt to make the relations with a friendly country bitter through 'unnecessary talks' in the market.
Ruling CPN had hotly debated MCC during the recent standing committee meeting 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 Sunday. The party has formed a committee led by senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal and including Foreign Minister Gyawali and standing committee member Bhim Rawal as members to study MCC.
