Prime Minister Patrick Manning launched a scathing attack on Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley in Parliament Wednesday, saying when Rowley faces opposition he behaves like a "raging bull".Manning was on the floor of the House of Representatives for the debate on the UDeCOTT validation bill, which passed with unanimous support.
But it was Rowley who was on his mind. And his contribution was a direct attack on the MP who on Monday made an impassioned plea to members of his own party to stand up against corruption in the People's National Movement (PNM).
Rowley told the House of Representatives his mission is to break the mold of corruption in the PNM, adding that those who defend UDeCOTT are adding to the damage to the PNM.
"There are strong forces that are making it their duty to make sure this Commission of Inquiry does not succeed," he charged.
He said by passing a validation bill "we are validating the hope to save the PNM. We of the PNM, other than anybody else in this country, have a particular interest in this matter...the PNM is on trial!"
Read the story: Rowley wants to break PNM mold of corruption
In his response to Rowley Manning said he had to "suffer" from his cabinet colleague's bullying for 12 years, going back to the time Rowley ran against him for the leadership of the PNM.
"The minute you oppose my good friend, he gets very, very angry. And if you oppose him strongly, he becomes a raging bull...You don't know the trouble I have seen. I have had to live with that for 12 years," Manning said.
The prime minister said he had enough of it and fired Rowley last year for that kind of behaviour. That decision, he said, also served as a lesson to the new cabinet members.
"Mr Speaker, we do not tolerate bullying in the secondary school system. And we not tolerating bullying in the Cabinet. And if the member for Diego Martin West wishes a Cabinet in which bullying is the order of the day, he is going to have to form that Cabinet himself. It ain't going to happen in this one. We not tolerating it!" Manning declared.
He presented the House with a photo of Rowley saying it was a snapshot of a man full of hate. "I see hate, bitterness, acrimony, animosity and, Mr Speaker, I see a man completely out of control."
Rowley sought permission for the the prime minister to give way so he could ask a question: "I would just like to ask him the name of the brand that he was drinking, so that I could avoid it," Rowley said.
Manning was quick to reply with biblical references.
"Mr Speaker, the brand from which I was drinking was the Holy Bible...If I appear to be drunk, I am drunk on God and love," as he snapped at Rowley for suggesting that Manning's reference to the Bible was blasphemy. "Yuh believe you are a God? Yuh not God, yuh know," Manning said.
He insisted on quoting from the Bible, saying when the PNM was preparing its candidates for the last general election, it discussed Corinthians, chapter 13, which speaks of the power of love.
He said the only candidate absent from that session was Rowley, so he seized the opportunity to preach to Rowley and the House.
"Since he didn't hear it then, I want him to hear it now...'If I could speak all the languages of earth and of the angels but didn't love others, all I would be is a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.' How did my friend sound on Monday? Noisy gong, clanging symbol?" Manning asked.
He said hate is impairing Rowley's judgment as he went on to defend Calder Hart and UDeCOTT.
He relied on two UDeCOTT media releases, in which Hart and his wife denied any interest or involvement a $367 million contract awarded to CH Development. He said UDeCOTT also stated that no member of the Hart family was involved in the award of the contract.
Manning said both Rowley and the opposition have ignored the denials and are claiming there is a relationship between Hart and CH Development based on the word of a jilted lover, a reference to Carl Khan, the former husband of Hart's wife.
"It is not really Calder Hart and UDeCOTT. They want the prime minister and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. That is what they after. And they cannot understand how we ain't fall yet. And let me tell you, we shall not fall."
No comments:
Post a Comment