Couva South MP Kelvin Ramnath has said there is a plot to discredit and hound out of the UNC former UNC leader Basdeo Panday and other founding members of the party. Ramnath made the comment in an interview with the Trinidad Guardian in which he said he is not sure if he will be in Parliament Friday to vote on a UNC motion calling for the resignation of all members of the UDeCOTT board.
One week ago, Ramnath and Panday abstained in a vote that would have forced debate on the UDeCOTT matter. But it failed because the opposition did not have the required number of votes. That has led to harsh criticism of both UNC founders by the leadership and UNC members.
Read the story: Panday, Ramnath abstain; Parliamentary motion to debate UDeCOTT affair fails
At a meeting on Monday, Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal called for the party to take disciplinary action against Panday and Ramnath for their action in Parliament.
Commenting on that, Ramnath told the Guardian, “There’s a plot to discredit Panday and myself and anyone whose knees didn’t bend to them after the UNC election."
He noted that "my friend Roodal Moonilal" and the others - including UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar - are not founding members of UNC.
"That’s why they seem to be aiming their guns at the two remaining UNC founding members in Parliament. They must feel guilty they contributed nothing to building the party,” he said.
He charged that Moonilal is making up for the attacks he had made on Persad-Bissessar during the internal election campaign. Moonilal headed Panday’s election campaign and is the only member of the Panday team who was elected. He is one of the party's three deputy leaders.
"Roodal now has to demonstrate he is no longer loyal to Panday who he once claimed was his ‘mentor and father’ who got him a scholarship to Holland, via the sugar union, to study,” Ramnath told the paper.
"It is regrettable that my friend whose political career came to the fore under Panday now has to sing for his supper in the party by attacking Panday."
He added, "They should be spending their time trying to fulfill the promise of unity they made in the election and uniting the UNC is the first step to unity. People can’t have unity with UNC when we have problems."
Ramnath said the party is going through a major change and people are excited about the future and the new leadership should be building the party on that wave rather than reopening old wounds and creating others.
"They should not be trying to destroy the good name of a man who spent his life struggling for the dispossessed and building other people’s political careers,” Ramnath said.
Commenting on that, Ramnath told the Guardian, “There’s a plot to discredit Panday and myself and anyone whose knees didn’t bend to them after the UNC election."
He noted that "my friend Roodal Moonilal" and the others - including UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar - are not founding members of UNC.
"That’s why they seem to be aiming their guns at the two remaining UNC founding members in Parliament. They must feel guilty they contributed nothing to building the party,” he said.
He charged that Moonilal is making up for the attacks he had made on Persad-Bissessar during the internal election campaign. Moonilal headed Panday’s election campaign and is the only member of the Panday team who was elected. He is one of the party's three deputy leaders.
"Roodal now has to demonstrate he is no longer loyal to Panday who he once claimed was his ‘mentor and father’ who got him a scholarship to Holland, via the sugar union, to study,” Ramnath told the paper.
"It is regrettable that my friend whose political career came to the fore under Panday now has to sing for his supper in the party by attacking Panday."
He added, "They should be spending their time trying to fulfill the promise of unity they made in the election and uniting the UNC is the first step to unity. People can’t have unity with UNC when we have problems."
Ramnath said the party is going through a major change and people are excited about the future and the new leadership should be building the party on that wave rather than reopening old wounds and creating others.
"They should not be trying to destroy the good name of a man who spent his life struggling for the dispossessed and building other people’s political careers,” Ramnath said.
2 comments:
What a hypocrite! Ramnath is full of garbage - The entire United National Congress must bend its knees to the two MPs from Couva? For what? What have either of them done to advance the party and its members in the 21st century? Get over your egos, fall in line, and remind yourselves that you serve the people. Unity doesn't mean that 98% of the people come begging you to stop throwing a tantrum and give you your divine support. Ramnath and Panday's actions in parliament are in contempt of the party, the opposition, and the growing movement to unseat the PNM. Get over yourselves and work with your party - or else get out of the way.
If this is in fact true, I am appalled that it has taken so long, these dinosaurs continue to be a wall between genuine unity, founding member my ass, who the hell care about founding members, especially if they continue with their old politics, you know some form of old boys club. This era is over. I wish Kamla could make hast if this is in fact true.
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