Ramesh pledges to support Panday to save UNC

Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj returned to Trinidad Tuesday and immediately pledged support for United National Congress (UNC) Leader Basdeo Panday on the issue of UNC membership.

Panday has suggested that there is a plot to pad the UNC membership list with people who belong to other parties. He claims that is a plan to steal the UNC base.

Speaking with reporters on his arrival Maharaj said he supports Panday on that issue because he believes in maintaining the integrity of the party.

"I support Mr. Panday in that if people who are not members of the party and they join another party, Mr. Panday is totally correct, the process would be flawed, so every step must be taken to ensure that members of the PNM, or members of another party, do not participate in the election process. Because if that happens you could have another political party taking over the UNC," he said.

Maharaj also commented on Suruj Rambachan's endorsement of UNC leadership candidate Kamla Persad-Bissessar, saying that it doesn't amount to much.

He drew a connection between Persad-Bissessar and Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner and said the "Kamjack" team together with Rambachan are incapable of beating Manning and the PNM.

Warner and Persad-Bissessar are runing independent campaigns and both of them have publicly stated that they are not a team.

"The only two people in the UNC who have been noted for struggle with people is Basdeo Panday and Ramesh Maharaj" he said adding that he would do everything possible "to ensure that no opposition party dissolves the UNC or causes it to be dissolved. And my mission at all times is to safeguard the interests of the party."

Maharaj also commented on statements by his opponents that he had made a deal with Patrick Manning to overthrow the Panday government in 2001.

He sidestepped the issue and instead said it was Persad-Bissessar who voted in 2007 to have him return to the party.

"I would have thought that if anybody had a done deal with Mr. Manning, they would not have voted for me to come back into the party and they would not have asked me to contest a seat," he said.

Maharaj and Manning had several meetings that involved two other UNC cabinet members, Trevor Sudama and Ralph Maraj. They had withdrawn their support for Panday, leaving the UNC with 16 seats.

Manning's PNM had 16 seats and the plan was to throw their support with the PNM, giving the then opposition a majority and having Manning appointed prime minister.

Panday pre-empted that move and called an election which resulted in the 18-18 tie that saw President Robinson appoint Manning as prime minister.