Ramesh plans to ask Commonwealth for donations to help Tabaquite

Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj skipped Sunday's United National Congress (UNC) gathering to attend to what he said was more pressing matters in his constituency.

His colleague, Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner, was in Nigeria attending to FIFA business but Warner told Jyoti that even if he were in Trinidad he would not have attended Sunday's congress.

The other member of the RAMJACK team - Winston "Gypsy" Peters was there and Panday sent a message to him stating that the UNC would not be "blackmailed" by members and urged those who want to leave the party to do so now.

It was reminiscent of his attack on former UNC cabinet minister Ralph Maraj in 2001.

At a meeting in Port of Spain, Panday, who was prime minister at the time, told Maraj, "Those who want to leave can leave," as he looked in the direction of Maraj who was in the audience standing next to PNM adviser, Dr Selwyn Cudjoe.

His anger was over an interview Maraj had given to TV6's Rosemary Sant in which he suggested that the cabinet needed to address the issue of corruption and that if it was not done to his satisfaction he would have to resign.

Panday's comment directed at Peters on Sunday was based on the Mayaro MP's repeated statements that he would not stay in the UNC if Panday leads the party.

He is on record as saying if Panday is the UNC leader he would consider joining the Congress of the People (COP).

While delegates were in Couva, Ramesh Maharaj was meeting with as residents in the villages of his constituency where people have complained about poor roads, lack of water, poor drainage, low voltage electricity and flooding.

Maharaj said he is documenting all the problems across his constituency and plans to go to the commonwealth meeting next month and raise them with heads of the delegations.

"I plan to approach each head of state at the international Commonwealth conference and ask them to give a donation to my constituency...I will tell them that people do not even have drinking water, yet the Prime Minister is entertaining them on a yacht and giving them champagne."

He also said he is mobilising to have protests in Port-of-Spain during the conference.