Kathmandu, November 14

Lawmakers of various political parties today urged the Parliament should conclude the impeachment motion against chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lokman Singh Karki.

Taking part in discussions on the impeachment motion registered by 157 lawmakers of the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre on October 19, lawmakers of UML, CPN-MC and some other fringe parties urged that the motion be passed by Parliament at the earliest. Discussion on the motion will continue on Wednesday.

CPN-UML lawmaker Yuvraj Gyawali said althouth it was a mistake on the part of leaders of political parties to appoint Karki as CIAA chief, it was the right thing to do to impeach him to correct the mistake. “Karki should be impeached as he took the law into his hands, did not obey the Parliament and created anarchy by abusing his authority.”

Gyawali charged that Karki had tried to make democratic system fail by working arbitrarily, challenging the democratic system and by misusing power. “Instead of controlling corruption, he worked to increase it,” he said.

People are waiting for action against him and the Parliament should work in a time-bound plan to conclude the motion, he said.

Mohan Bahadur Basnet of Nepali Congress, however, expressed a different view saying that the UML and CPN-MC had brought the motion without the NC’s knowledge. He said the motion was not legitimate and there was confusion in the11-member parliamentary committee on how to handle the case.

Basnet questioned, “The issue of eligibility of the CIAA chief’s appointment is now subjudiced in the Supreme Court. What would be the consequence if this case was taken up by both the Supreme Court and the Parliament? We should be very clear about the existence of the three separate entities of the state.”

Shyam Kumar Shrestha of CPN-Maoist Centre said that those misusing power should be hooked and thus the motion should be passed. A message should be given so that even those authorities of constitutional bodies who misuse power could be in for action, he said.

Rameshwor Phuyanl of CPN-UML said the impeachment motion was brought after Karki created a parallel government by misusing authority.

Lawmakers slam govt for providing Rs 5 million to Sujata

Lawmakers criticised the government for providing a large amount of money to Nepali Congress leader Sujata Koirala as expense for treatment of breast cancer.

A cabinet meeting had decided to provide Rs 5 million to former deputy prime minister Koirala yesterday.

Stating that past records showed that the government has a tendency of spending money arbitrarily on political leaders, they urged the government to implement a single set of guideline while providing medical expenses through cabinet decision.

UML lawmaker Prakash Jwala said the government’s tendency to provide large amounts of money to former VIPs was faulty.

Stating that the government provided large amount of money to the former president, his supporters, Congress leader Khum Bahadur Khadka, who was prosecuted and taken action against, Jwala drew the government’s attention to the need to correct it.

“People are dying as they are deprived of treatment. However, the state is spending Rs 5 million to send a VIP for treatment abroad. It is not justifiable,” he said. He demanded clarification from the health minister.

Dilnath Giri of Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal said that providing Rs 5 million to former DPM Koirala from the state coffers was a blunder. Mina Pun of Rastriya Janamorcha demanded that such practice be stopped.