Kathmandu, Oct. 24 -- Within two days, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka have made conflicting statements over the United States' Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact, which has been awaiting parliamentary ratification for three years as political leaders spar over the pros and cons of the aid.

Coalition partners Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party, and Rastriya Janamorcha are divided over their perception of the terms of the $500 million US grant and whether the compact should be ratified from the House without amendment. The US grant is meant for two infrastructure projects.

There has been a clear divisio...