Reshmi writes Speaker, demands apology from Rowley for "false" statements; Gopeesingh says Rowley lied

Tim Gopeesingh has denied that the woman formerly known as Reshmi Ramnarine is employed in the Ministry of Education.

Opposition Leader Keith Rowley charged on Friday that Ramnarine has changed her name by deed poll and is now employed on contract in a government department.

When the media asked Gopeesingh whether the woman is employed as a Communications Specialist in his ministry he stated "it’s a lie."

He added that the Leader of the Opposition "made false, misleading statements in the House of Representatives stating that the person is working in the ministry...It is a malicious lie and shameful that anyone did not see it fit to call me to verify the information. I want to make it categorically clear that nobody by the name of Reshmi Ramnarine or Shashi Rehka works in the Ministry of Education. It is mischievousness and wickedness."

The woman in question has written to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, admitting the name change and explaining to Wade Mark why she had to do it.

The Guardian media reported Sunday that it has obtained the letter admits that she changed her name but insists that Rowley made false and baseless accusations to tarnish her reputation and asked for an apology from the Leader of the Opposition.

She also said she is of the opinion that Rowley has abused his Parliamentary privilege and that she is seeking legal advice in the matter.

"Dr Rowley’s statements are untrue and designed to persecute me for political gain, and, in my respectful view constitute an abuse of parliamentary privilege since he used this sacred position to unleash an unfounded and malicious attack upon me, a private citizen entitled by law to all rights enshrined in the Constitution,” the letter stated.

"Since my resignation (as head of the SSA) I have been the subject of a smear campaign propelled by persons in the media who I once counted as close friends, as well as politicians who sought to score political points by using me as a political football.

“The smear campaign has resulted in me being falsely accused of serious criminal conduct and my personal safety being threatened by those I had formally monitored.

“In order to protect myself as a private citizen from security risks and continued public and personal maligning and victimisation, I decided to have my name changed,” she stated in the letter to House Speaker Mark."

The Guardian quoted further from the letter:

• I changed my name because of security reasons arising from those I formally monitored, which were criminal elements involved in some of the most serious crimes committed in the country as the Strategic Intelligence Agency (SIA) was a part of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government’s fight against crime
• My resignation became necessary after my position in the SIA and personal safety was compromised
• That since my resignation became necessary after my position in the SIA and personal safety was compromised
• Since my resignation I have not been employed by nor contracted to or in any way ensconced in the government with a contracted job or a job of any form. In fact, I am currently unemployed
• Since my resignation I have had no contact with any political member of the United National Congress, Congress of the People, PNM or other political organisations

Ramnarine said another reason for changing her name was because she found it nearly impossible to get work. Even with the name change, she said, she still remains unemployed.