KESHAV P. KOIRALA

KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa's Rastriya Prajatantra Party has decided to leave the government, objecting to the move to impeach Chief Justice Sushila Karki.

After the second round of meeting of the party's central executive committee, RPP Chairman Thapa said the party concluded that the impeachment motion was immature and irresponsible, and was moved with an ill intention and thus the party was pulling out of the government in protest.

Along with the decision to pull out of the government , the fourth largest party, which has 37 lawmakers in 593-member Parliament, has withdrawn its support to the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led coalition government.

The party, however, will support the efforts to hold local level elections and the constitution amendment, according to Thapa.

Saying the impeachment motion was likely to leave long-lasting and negative impacts on the election environment, rule of law and overall situation in the country, the RPP further decided to ask the stakeholders -- Nepali Congress and CPN Maoist Centre -- to immediately withdraw the impeachment motion that their lawmakers moved against the Chief Justice in order to prevent the country from more instability and crisis.

The party observed that the move to impeach the Chief Justice has injured the independent existence of judiciary and the spirit of separation of power. "Moving impeachment motion for the verdicts and potential verdicts that the judiciary would make has challenged as well as weakened the judicial independence and supremacy," it concluded.

Earlier yesterday, DPM Thapa on Twitter had objected to the impeachment motion, saying it was attack on the judicial independence.

The party had called an emergency meeting of its central executive committee to discuss whether to continue in the government. The second round of meeting held after 5 pm made the decision.

Deputy Prime Minister Bimalendra Nidhi of Nepali Congress had resigned from the Cabinet yesterday to protest the impeachment motion.

@keshuvko