Ramesh says deal with Manning in 2001 irrelevant

Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj said on national radio Monday morning his role in contributing to the fall of the Panday government is irrelevant to the campaign for the United National Congress (UNC) internal election on January 24.

He said everyone must share blame for what happened but he does not see what relevance the issue has to the present situation because it does not contribute to resolving the problems facing the party and the government.

The Tabaquite MP said further that people have no interest in that and pointed to the fact that a majority of UNC members voted for him to return to the party for the 2007 general election.

But while he was making a case for putting the past behind, he also said people should consider his track record in making their decision on January 24.

Maharaj said he has the experience and track record to get things done and he plans to begin making things happen as soon as he is elected.

Maharaj pledged to immediately begin a project to fix roads all over the country.

He said he would get contractors to volunteer goods and services to get the job done. "We will not wait on the government", he said.

Maharaj also said he would show the Manning government how to deal with crime.

Maharaj spoke about the infrastructure issue over the weekend when he told supporters he would call on the government to fix the roads and drains.

"And if he doesn’t fix it...I am going at a national level and I will get the donations from the business community and contractors with road building equipment, and we will start fixing drains and roads throughout Trinidad and Tobago," he said.

He also promised to recruit a team of international lawyers to assist the Government in processing deeds for lands promised to former sugar workers.

"I would confront Manning and the Government in such a way that they would not be able to say no," he said. Maharaj also spoke Monday about UNC leader Basdeo Panday and acknowledged that the former prime minister has the best credentials for leading the party.

However he said he doubts Panday has the energy need to take on the job. Panday addressed that issue in a media interview Sunday, saying he is fit mentally and physically to be leader.

Maharaj said he is confident that he will win the leadership, noting that his campaign has been growing steadily.