Suruj slams opposition for obsession with price of India state visit

File: Suruj Rambachan

Suruj Rambachan provided the Senate Tuesday with the figure that the government invested in the Prime Minister's State Visit to India in January - $8.832,279.76.

The Foreign Affairs and Communications Minister also seized the opportunity to chastise the opposition for its "obsession" with that trip and with the Prime Minister's sister, Vidwatie Newton.

Rambachan's comments were in response to a question filed by Senator Fitzgerald Hinds. He said the opposition remains focused "on the price, not the prize".

The minister suggested other motives. "I sincerely hope that the motivation behind the question is not a subconscious paranoia that has consumed so many on the Opposition benches ever since the Prime Minister and her delegation undertook this very successful mission to the Asian sub-continent," he said.

"You will recall the furore that became almost obsessive from the Opposition bench when the Prime Minister, who grew up in a rural Hindu home, exercised an important aspect of her secret tradition by not submitting to, but paying obeisance at the feet of an elder, the greatest form of respect that one can pay to the teachings of one's scriptures.

"Yet, those not schooled in Hindu doctrine saw it as ridicule more than an act of respect. Clearly, it demonstrated that there is a need for us to educate ourselves about our respective customs and traditions," Rambachan stated.

He added another element: "Perhaps the honorable Senator might be very interested in finding out about a special envoy called Juliana Pena who is now the subject of an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission in Abuja, Nigeria."

Rambachan told the Express newspaper the Nigerian government has asked for information on Pena's address and phone number because she is a "person of interest'.

Pena used to be the spiritual adviser to former Prime Minister Patrick Manning and at one time visited Zimbabwe as a special envoy of Trinidad & Tobago. she also travelled to other African states. She is also the subject of an investigation related to the building of a church in Guanapo, in east Trinidad.

Rambachan said he does not know the specific nature of the Nigerian investigation into Pena. However he said the agency that said it has an interest in the lady generally investigates financial crimes.

Hinds was not satisfied and asked the minister whether the total figure provided included the expenses "on one Vidwatie Newton who was neither nurse nor personal assistant officially".

Rambachan responded by noting that the question had been asked "over and over and it seems there is some obsession with the sister of the Prime Minister by the members of the Opposition". He confirmed that the figure included Newton's expenses.

PNM Senator Terrence Deyalsingh said the Prime Minister had indicated to the country that no cost would be incurred by the taxpayers of Trinidad and Tobago and the cost of the trip would be borne by the Government of India.

Rambachan denied that the PM made such as statement. "What I am aware of was that it was a state visit and the Prime Minister was invited with a delegation of ten," he said.

The Prime Minister spoke about costs at a news conference before she left for India in January. 

"For my own costs and that of my spouse, those costs are being borne by the Government of India since this is a State Visit. For members of my immediate delegation out of the Office of the Prime Minister, the costs of accommodation and our transport and everything in India will be borne by the Government of India."

The Express reported that an official from the Indian High Commission confirmed that the Indian Government paid for the travel expenses and local hospitality of the Prime Minister and her spouse. It also paid for the "local hospitality" of the ministers who accompanied her on the trip.

Rambachan said the Government went to India to promote investments in Trinidad and Tobago, to pursue new markets and opportunities for the energy sector.

He also wondered if the opposition is seeking to place a price tag on the "long and cherished relationship" with India or "to devalue 50 years of excellent diplomatic relations and 167 years of "an intimate, social and cultural connection" between Trinidad and Tobago and India.