KATHMANDU, May 5: Nine opposition parties including the main opposition CPN-UML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and the CPN-ML among others issuing a joint statement on Thursday have demanded withdrawal of the impeachment motion filed against Chief Justice Sushila Karki. 

A meeting of the parliament scheduled for Thursday afternoon was postponed for Friday following threat by the opposition parties to obstruct the House if the impeachment motion filed by the lawmakers of the two ruling parties -- Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (Maoist Center) -- is not withdrawn.
 
“We have demanded withdrawal of the impeachment motion as it is against the principle of independent judiciary,” said Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) leader Prem Suwal.

As many as 249 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress and the CPN (Maoist Center) had filed an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Karki at Parliament Secretariat on April 30, accusing her of failing to honor the independence of the judiciary and encroaching upon the jurisdiction of the executive.
 
“We demand that the parties that brought the motion respect the rule of law as the impeachment motion is unjustifiable, an attack on the spirit of independent judiciary and democratic values,” reads the statement issued by the nine parties.
 
Leaders of the NWPP, Rastriya Janamorcha, Nepal Family Party and lawmakers Laxman Rajbamsi, Bishwendra Paswan and Meghraj Nepali Nishad have also undersigned the statement. Though the opposition alliance had approached the Upendra Yadav-led Federal Socialist Forum Nepal and Bijay Gachhedar-led Nepal Loktantrik Party, seeking their support against the impeachment motion, the two parties declined to sign the statement saying their parties have yet to take any decision on the issue, said a leader. 

Though, the House meeting on Thursday, was scheduled to fix the date for discussion on the impeachment motion, the meeting was postponed after the opposition parties insisited that they would not allow any parliamentary proceedings until the impeachment motion is withdrawn. “The House meeting was postponed after we demanded withdrawal of the impeachment motion and the ruling parties declined it,” said UML Vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam.

The Parliament Regulation have a mandatory provision of fixing the date for discussion on any impeachment motion within seven days of registration of such motion. 

 
• opposition parties
 
• cpn-uml
 
• rastriya prajatantra party
 
• cpn-ml
 
• impeachment motion
 
• sushila karki