Panday strikes back, plans to put Suruj in Senate

Jack Warner had his political prize Monday when he engineered the removal of Suruj Rambachan as Mayor of Chaguanas. And now opposition leader Basdeo Panday is striking back with a promise to move Rambachan from local government to Parliament.

Within hours of the fall of Rambachan, Panday told supporters in Penal, “If they don’t want you as mayor, we will make you a Parliamentarian,” a clear reference to the Senate. Panday can hire and fire at any time one or more of his six members in the upper house.

Rambachan, who was at the meeting, was in a fighting mood and used a Hindi racist remark when he spoke about Warner. And he told UNC supporters his removal from office had nothing to do with competence and everything to do with partisan politics.

In an interview Tuesday with the Trinidad Guardian he spoke about his work in Chaguanas.

“I held 23 seminars during my six years and I am leaving a strategic plan up to 2011, which the corporation can work with for their progress. I tried to run the corporation like a private enterprise,” he said.

He said his greatest worry is that employees who had been close to him might be victimised and warned that he is prepared to use the Equal Opportunity Commission to ensure “fair distribution of resources.”

Rambachan said Monday's development will push him to intensify his political work. "More than ever there is the need for a national front against the PNM. It is greater than ever." He is dedicated, he said, to working tirelessly to return the UNC to government.

And he insisted that his removal as mayor had nothing to do with management "but with the whole political eruption in the country...People are jostling for political positions and ignoring the main issues of the country.”

He admitted that he was shocked at Monday's turn of events but is ready to move on. “Whether I am mayor or not, I will be a watchdog for the Corporation. I intend to be a watchdog. I am out of office, but not out of the drive to deal with those issues affecting Chaguanas. I’ll continue to articulate the issues,” he told the paper adding that some of the issues that need urgent attention are escalating crime, traffic problems and street vending.

The new mayor has pledged to work with everyone to get the job done and plans to do a walkabout at the Chaguanas market as her first official duty after she takes office Thursday morning.

Rambachan has some advice for his successor: be fair, honest, have equal vision and to act without fear or favour towards all. “Most importantly, don’t be a political puppet in the hands of those who brought you to office,” he advised.

The UNC councillors who helped put the new mayor in office are Felisha Isahack, Nalsingh Rambaran (who will be deputy mayor) and Ramesh Ramdhan. They teamed up with PNM councillors Ronald Heera and Bernard Bailey.

UNC loyalists who supported Rambachan were Deputy Mayor Orlando Nagassar and UNC councillors Joey Samuel and Gopaul Boodhan. Panday has promised that the three would be appointed as a watchdog team to look after the interests of the Chaguanas West constituency.