The Nepali Congress (NC) still remains divided over its further move on an impeachment motion against Lokman Singh Karki, with no clear position coming from it even three days after the proposal was registered.

As many as 157 lawmakers from the governing CPN (Maoist Centre) and the main opposition CPN-UML had registered the impeachment motion against Karki on Wednesday evening.

The NC has maintained it was not consulted before the proposal was registered.

The impeachment motion against Karki has, however, made the NC a divided house, with some strongly making a pitch for supporting the proposal and others asking the leadership to act prudently.

A section of NC leaders believes it will be morally incorrect to toe the UML and Maoist Centre line and support the impeachment proposal as the party was kept in the dark when the motion was registered despite the fact it is the largest party in Parliament.

What if the NC decides to stand against the impeachment motion?

It could create a rift between the NC and the Maoist Centre and that could ultimately affect the government functioning, say some party insiders.

Some leaders who spoke on Friday on the second day of the party’s Central Working Committee meeting urged party President Sher Bahadur Deuba to take the lead in the impeachment process.

“A few of us are trying to create an environment within the party to make sure we participate in the voting in favour of the impeachment motion,” said Pradip Poudel, a CWC member.

He claimed that the decision by the three parties—NC, Maoist Centre and UML—to appoint Karki as the corruption watchdog chief was a grave mistake, and that NC should now realise the mistake. As many as 17 leaders aired their views during Friday’s meeting. The NC will again sit for discussion on Monday. Meanwhile, some senior leaders have suggested that the party look for ways to make Karki, who currently remains suspended as chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), resign.

“Leaders have suggested that the party find a way to make Karki resign,” said an NC leader requesting anonymity. “If that happens, the party neither has to vote in favour of the impeachment motion nor against it.”

NC General Secretary Shashank Koirala said majority of senior leaders, in a separate meeting during the second day of the CWC meeting, suggested that party President Deuba should hold talks with senior Maoist and UML leaders on Sunday to find a middle path. The House is set to take up the impeachment motion on Sunday. According to Koirala, some leaders have called on the party leadership to let the impeachment process move forward, as it will anyway take a minimum of six weeks to complete.

“Meanwhile, we will hold discussions on Monday as well. Senior party leaders are yet to speak and we have to take suggestions from the general public as well,” he said.