In a parable that is believed to have originated in the South Asian region, six blind men venture out to “see” an elephant. Upon touching the elephant’s side, the first blind man claims that the elephant is like a wall; the second man, upon touching the elephant’s tusk, claims it is like a spear; the third man, upon touching the elephant’s trunk, claims it is like a snake; the fourth man, upon touching the elephant’s leg, claims it is like a tree; the fifth man, upon touching the elephant’s ear, claims it is like a fan; and the last man, upon touching the elephant’s tail, claims it is like a rope. As the elephant moves on, each man is certain about his knowledge, unwilling to listen to and engage with what the other man has to say. Six different interpretations do not add to the knowledge about what an elephant exactly looks like.

Parables survive for eternity not without a reason. It is just a coincidence that the debate about the good, the bad and the ugly of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) involves nearly six “blind men” from various political parties in the country today—five from the ruling coalition and one from the CPN-UML. But it is interesting, all the same, how the six patriarchs of the squabbling parties resemble the six blind men who come with their own preconceived notions about what the elephant looks like. In the race to outdo the other, they end up presenting different versions of the truth, each failing to believe that their version of the truth could be biased or incomplete. That, exactly, is what the top leaders have made of MCC today, each failing to present an unadulterated version of what it is for real.

While Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s enthusiasm to invite MCC to Nepal is unparalleled, leaders representing his coalition partners—Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party and Rastriya Janamorcha—are suspicious of several clauses that they claim contravene Nepal’s laws as well as undermine its sovereignty. CPN-UML chief KP Sharma Oli, meanwhile, remains a turncoat as he changes his stand from that of an MCC supporter while in government to an MCC sceptic right after being thrown out of government. He is even learnt to have vowed to support MCC if the current coalition government, which was formed after throwing him out of power, falls apart. Interestingly enough, some of Prime Minister Deuba’s coalition partners are learnt to believe Deuba is willing to push MCC through even if that means letting the coalition fall apart. In that sense, Deuba and Oli’s roads reach the same intersection via different routes.

What is clear as day is that none of the leaders is honest in their analysis of what MCC is and what Nepal’s future with it or without it will be like. In presenting their own versions of the truth about MCC, they have left Nepalis in an information abyss, and that is completely uncalled for.