Subhas Panday came out of political hibernation Wednesday night and endorsed the People's Partnership and his successor as the UNC Princes Town candidate, Nela Khan. It was a political coup for the UNC leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar and party chairman Jack Warner who have been criticised for dropping the three Pandays from the UNC lineup of candidates for the election.
UNC founder Basdeo Panday refused to submit his name for the nomination for his Couva North seat, which has now gone to rookie Ramona Ramdial. Both Subhas and his neice, Mickela panday were replaced by newcomers.
Panday appeared on the People's partnership platform in Princes Town and praised and defended Persad-Bissessar. And he called on constituents of Princes Town to vote for Khan.
Two days earlier, Hazel Manning, speaking at the same venue, heaped scorn on the UNC for rejecting the three Pandays.
"Mr Basdeo Panday who was founding father of the UNC and who served as leader of the Opposition, and the Prime Minister, has been booted out. I don’t care what Mr Panday did, we do not treat our leaders so.
"So too Mickela Panday. And what about Subhas Panday. Have you seen him? He has been totally left out. Where is he? We would never do that in the PNM," she declared.
Her husband, PNM leader Patrick Manning went further the week before, warning PNM supporters not to give up on the PNM because if the UNC could do that to their "kind" it would be worse for them.
Read the story: Kamla vindictive to leave out Mickela: Manning
Panday said he decided to return to the political stage to show support for his party and the partnership and called Manning’s attacks on Persad-Bissessar misguided. He said Persad-Bissessar is eminently qualified to lead a government.
Panday spoke of the UNC leader's credentials as a respected Attorney general, Legal Affairs Minister and the best performing Minister of Education ever.
He pointed that under her tenure Persad-Bissessar ended the Common Entrance system and introduce the nforerunner to GATE, the dollar for dollar program. He said young people should vote for her to say thanks.
"Tonight I want to help Kamla and the People’s Partnership get into government," Panday declared.
He also endorsed his brother's political nemesis, UNC Chairman Jack Warner, who took on the UNC establishment and challenged Basdeo Panday to reform the party and hold internal elections. Panday eventually agreed to the election in which he lost the leadership of the UNC to Persad-Bissessar.
Subhas Panday said Manning despises Warner because the UNC chairman is a rich and independent black man. Warner later thanked Panday for his endorsement and said he would ask his son to name a grandchild Subhas.
No comments:
Post a Comment