The impeachment motion against the suspended Chief Commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Lokman Singh Karki was tabled in Parliament on Sunday, and discussion on the motion is expected to start on Tuesday. The process is expected to take up to six weeks.

The move is being spearheaded by the UML, and the ruling CPN (Maoist-Centre) has instructed its MPs to vote in favour of the motion even though its coalition partner and largest party in Parliament is still undecided.

NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba met Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Saturday and reportedly assured him of his support for the motion. Student leaders also met Deuba on Sunday and urged his party to go for Karki’s impeachment. Debut is said to be in a dilemma because although he personally is supportive, many influential leaders in his party are against impeachment.

The NC is resuming its Central Committee (CC) meeting on Monday to decide. The impeachment motion was registered in the parliamentary secretariat by 157 MPs from the CPN (Maoist-Centre) and the UML.

Last week, most NC leaders who spoke in the CC meeting had dubbed the impeachment motion a UML ploy to break the NC-Maoist coalition and undermine efforts to amend the Constitution. However, the NC also faces tremendous pressure from activists, professionals and the civil society to impeach Karki. Some younger NC leaders have also supported the motion.