KATHMANDU: The largest party Nepali Congress on Tuesday decided to take an appropriate decision on the impeachment motion against the chief of Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Lok Man Singh Karki, only during the voting at the Parliament, according to leader Ram Chandra Paudel.

An understanding for that matter was made at the party's Central Working Committee meeting as the CWC members were divided over whether to support the impeachment motion brought in by the Nepali Congress' coalition ally and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's party CPN Maoist Centre and the main opposition CPN-UML, apparently without the knowledge of the Nepali Congress.

Since the impeachment motion falls under the jurisdiction of Legislature-Parliament, the CWC decided that Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party would make an appropriate decision apropos to the issue, according to a statement later issued by the party's central office.

President Sher Bahadur Deuba, General Secretary Shashank Koirala, Treasurer Sita Devi Yadav and CWC members Ram Chandra Paudel, Khum Bahadur Khadka, Chitralekha Yadav, Purna Bahadur Khadka, Pradeep Giri, Ambika Basnet, Shankar Bhandari, Meen Bishwakarma, Sita Gurung and Keshav Kumar Budhathoki had spoken at the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting which resumed this morning, leader Khum Bahadur Khadka, who was convicted of corruption charges and jailed after the CIAA axe fell upon him some years ago, opined that the Nepali Congress should oppose the impeachment motion against the chief of anti-corruption constitutional body.

Khadka went on to claim that the impeachment motion was CPN-UML's plot to trick Nepali Congress and brought in the best interests of the I/NGOs and western countries.

Though the party has bought time over the matter, some leaders have been publicly saying that the Nepali Congress would vote to impeach the CIAA chief. CWC members including Minister Gagan Thapa, Dhan Raj Gurung, Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Pradeep Paudel have been publicly speaking in favour of the impeachment motion.

"Nepali Congress would enter the ground in the 90th minute and score the goal," CWC member Bishwa Prakash Sharma said in a talk show on Nepal Television.

The Parliament is scheduled to begin the deliberations on the motion, which was registered at the Parliament Secretariat last Wednesday, today.

The impeachment motion would be endorsed only if it garnered support from the two thirds majority of the Parliament. Given the strength of parties in the Parliament, the Nepali Congress support is a must for the endorsement of the motion.

Meanwhile, the CWC decided that the party would take an initiative to hold talks all stakeholders for immediate amendment of Constitution, according to a statement issued by the party's central office.

The party further directed the cadres to launch a month-long campaign in all districts and provinces to foster policies and programmes in favour of the party for the upcoming elections. The CWC decided to deploy CWC members and representatives to the districts for the campaign.

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