The People's National Movement (PNM) is gunning for former minister Dr Keith Rowley and some top members are saying Rowley could face disciplinary action for his opposition to government policy.The Trinidad Express says high ranking party officials are saying Rowley "crossed the line" during debate on the property tax legislation.
"You cannot have a member coming to the caucus, listening to the party’s strategy for dealing with legislation and then coming out in open opposition to the Government on the Parliament floor, undermining public confidence in it and giving aid to its enemies," the paper quoted an unnamed source as saying.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning is angry about Rowley's behaviour.
"Dr Rowley is a member of the People’s National Movement and subject to the rules, regulations and disciplinary procedures of the party...and if those rules are transgressed then the party has a process by which we deal with that," the Express quoted Manning as saying.
The Express said Rowley insists that he has done nothing to violate the regulations of his party.
"I am certain that I have taken absolutely no action to cause me to lose the protection of the PNM’s constitution. And I take comfort in that. The PNM’s constitution is not there for me alone, it is there for all of us and it is very well written on this matter of discipline," he told the paper.
He said he was just speaking out on behalf of his constituents, which is what the party's constitution expects from a parliamentary representative.
"What I did was to faithfully represent the feedback I was given from constituents from all walks of life. If other MPs are having different reactions from their constituents, then I take no issue that," Rowley told the paper.
Rowley denied that he gave the PNM caucus the assurance that he would support the bill.
"After they had selected their speakers at the caucus, I said that I intended to make an intervention. The Minister of Finance asked ’are you supporting the bill and I said I cannot support a bill that I have not seen’. And that was it. ’That was the sum total of it, and anybody who says anything else, is completely untrue," Rowley told the Express.
He added, "When one takes that against the background of what I said in the Budget debate, I don’t know why they are surprised that I did not come out with cymbals clanging in support of the bill,’ he said.
Rowley is not bothered about attempts the party might make to expel him. He told the paper, "My membership in the PNM is a matter for the PNM, it is not a matter for any individual. As long as I carry out my oath of office without breaking the country’s laws or the regulations of the party, I am quite comfortable. And right now, I am so comfortable with my representation of my constituents."
1 comment:
This is very interesting, it informs of the conspiring that takes place at these caucuses, and if anyone goes against such conspiracies they would be dealt with according to the rules that were designed to silence opposition to the conspiracy. Our nation is at its worst, corruption is at the highest, and we need more like Dr. Rowley who are prepared to face the brunt of a corrupt regime and stand up for what is right, albeit he is doing this because he is no longer a Cabinet member, that is not the issue, the issue is that this regime is corruptly expending our resources in the name of development with no accountability
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