Provincial assembly member from Lumbini Bimala Kumari Khatri Oli has again pledged allegiance to CPN (Maoist Center) holding a press conference just four days after issuing a statement swearing allegiance to CPN-UML.
The Maoist parliamentary party in Lumbini organizing a press conference in Butwal on Thursday has revealed that Oli, who was not seen in public functions since July 31, is with the party.
She has basically accused Chief Minister (CM) Shankar Pokharel of holding her captive against her wishes claiming she was not allowed to get out of the CM's office from August 1 till Wednesday. She alleged CM Pokharel of wooing her to join UML promising her the post of minister and claimed that she was forced to sign on the statement issued in her name on Monday along with a few registers that looked like minutes without reading them.
She further claimed that she eventually escaped what she implied to be forced captivity after the mental torture became too unbearable Wednesday morning. "I escaped on slippers of the toilet at around 11:45 when everyone was taking a rest and reached the parliamentary party office of CPN (Maoist Center) where I felt I reached an open and independent world. I could not become public on the day I was free as I was mentally very tired. I have produced myself before the people through you media persons today."
Oli had won the by-election in Dang-3(B) on ticket of the then CPN formed after unification of UML and CPN (Maoist Center) after her husband Uttar Kumar Oli, who was elected from the constituency on a UML ticket, died in a traffic accident.
She had initially pledged allegiance to Maoist Center after the Supreme Court (SC) invalidated unification of UML and Maoist Center on March 7 restoring the two parties to the state they were in before the unification.
Khatri is free to choose either of the two parties without losing the post of lawmaker having won the election on the ticket of the then CPN, and the two parties are competing with each other to bring her into the fold.
