Kathmandu, October 19 On the very day that the Impeachment Recommendation Committee was formed, lawmakers of the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre today registered an impeachment motion against chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lok Man Singh Karki at the Legislature-Parliament Secretariat. The lawmakers alleged misuse of power, violation of the constitution and misconduct. CPN-Maoist Centre lawmaker Mahendra Bahadur Shahi proposed the motion, while CPN-UML Chief Whip Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal seconded it. The motion has attached the signatures of 157 lawmakers — 107 from the UML and 50 from the CPN-MC — according to CPN-UML lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai. More than one-fourth of the lawmakers registered the motion as per the constitutional requirement for moving ahead an impeachment motion. Signatures of 149 lawmakers was needed to reach the one-fourth mark from the existing 597 members of Parliament. However, a two-thirds majority is required to pass the impeachment motion. “We have registered a motion seeking impeachment of CIAA Chief Lok Man Singh Karki as per Article 101 (2) of the constitution,” Dhakal said. Top leaders, including CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal and Bhim Rawal; and Prime Minister and CPN-MC Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Krishna Bahadur Mahara have not signed the motion. The motion was registered late today evening as the government is preparing to prorogue the House session tomorrow, said proposer Shahi. According to Article 101 (2) one-fourth of the total number of the then members of the House may move a motion of impeachment on the ground of his or her failure to fulfil his or her duties of office because of serious violation of this constitution and law, incompetence, misconduct, failure to discharge duties of office honestly, or serious violation of the code of conduct. Article 101 (6) states: “After the commencement of impeachment proceedings under clause (2), the chief justice of Nepal or judge of the Supreme Court, member of the Judicial Council, chief or official of the Constitutional Body shall not be allowed to discharge duties of his or her office pending the settlement of such proceedings.” Sources confirmed that CIAA Chief Karki returned home today itself via UAE from Canada after a month-long trip. He landed at TIA in an Etihad Airways flight this evening. Meanwhile, the government is preparing to prorogue the budget session of the House tomorrow, said a minister on the condition of anonymity. Earlier today, the Legislature-Parliament had formed an 11-member Impeachment Recommendation Committee to make recommendation after inquiring whether there exists grounds and reasons for moving an impeachment motion against any person. After Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar proposed the names following consensus at today’s Business Advisory Committee meeting held earlier, the House unanimously endorsed the names. Although there was a provision of impeachment in the previous constitutions, this is the first time a parliamentary panel has been formed for this purpose. The members of the committee include – Aman Lal Modi, Kumari Laxmi Rai, Keshav Badal, Dilanath Giri, Dipak Prasad Kuinkel, Parbat Gurung, Farmullha Mansur, Ram Narayan Bidari, Rewati Raman Bhandari, Sushila Nepal and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki. Rai, Kuinkel, Mansur and Karki are from Nepali Congress; Badal, Gurung, Bhandari and Nepal are from the CPN-UML; Modi and Bidari are from the CPN-Maoist Centre and Giri is from Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal.