Meeting to resume deliberations on Karki impeachment
KATHMANDU, Nov 10: The meeting of Parliament, which was scheduled to resume deliberations on the impeachment motion filed against suspended chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lokman Singh Karki from Thursday, has been postponed till Friday.
The parliament secretariat, issuing a notice on Wednesday afternoon, postponed the House meeting till 11 a.m. on Friday in view of the Falgunanda Jayanti festival of the Kirati community. The government has announced a public holiday for the Kirati community on Thursday. “The House meeting has been postponed for Friday upon the request of Kirati members of parliament,” informed Speaker Onsari Gharti's press advisor, Bashudev Sharma.
After a 16-day pause for the Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals, Parliament was set to resume deliberations on the impeachment motion against Karki from Thursday. The impeachment motion filed by 157 lawmakers from the CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN-UML last month, was tabled in the House for deliberations on October 25. Lawmakers of the major political parties taking part in deliberations on the motion on the first day had stood united in favor of impeachment.
Altogether 38 lawmakers, who have registered their names, will take part in the deliberations on Friday. “Other lawmakers can add their names during the deliberations,” said deputy spokesperson of the parliament secretariat, Sudarshan Kuinkel.
The deliberations on the impeachment motion are likely to be prolonged for a few days if more lawmakers show interest in participating. After the deliberations conclude, the House will forward the impeachment motion to the Impeachment Recommendations Committee for further investigations into the allegations against Karki.
According to rule 170 of the parliamentary regulations, the Impeachment Recommendations Committee should submit its report to the House within 30 days after initiating its investigations. Within the first seven days after starting its work, the 11-member committee will invite Karki to furnish his clarifications over the allegations against him.
Lawmakers registering the impeachment motion have accused Karki of involvement in various inappropriate activities, including breaching the jurisdiction of the anti-graft body, working in his own vested interests and seeking vengeance against those who have raised questions over his work. Likewise, the lawmakers have accused him of hindering the implementation of court orders.
Nepali Congress (NC), the largest political party in Parliament, is yet to decide whether or not to vote for impeachment. However, lawmakers of the party have been pressing the party leadership to endorse the impeachment. According to Article 101 of the Constitution, an impeachment motion must be endorsed through a two-thirds majority of the House.
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