KATHMANDU: The CPN-Maoist Center has clarified that it holds a firm position that the US-backed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) could not be passed without necessary amendments.

A correspondence between Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Maoist Center Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and MCC was leaked in the media Sunday. The two leaders had sought about five months for parliamentary ratification of the MCC Nepal Compact in the letter.

Following the leak, Prachanda has been criticized for portraying dual characters.

Meanwhile, Prachanda’s secretariat on Sunday evening defended the letter addressed by the Maoist Chair and PM Deuba to MCC by issuing a statement.

“The letter was written to protect the national interest and the coalition government at a time when pressure mounted on PM Deuba to pass the MCC as the coalition government had just formed. The letter had stated that national consensus was needed for passage of the MCC and that the government sought time to build a national consensus,” the statement read.

“There could not have been consensus on the issue at the time as public outcry was increasing and the task force of the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP) had presented its conclusion that MCC could not be passed without amendments. Therefore, time was sought for decision-making,” the statement clarified.

“keeping in mind this conjecture, it is futile to misinterpret and exaggerate the diplomatic initiatives taken by the leadership at the time,” said Prachanda’s secretariat.