|
Panday Exacting Loyalty and Victimhood
Posted: Friday, April 6, 2007
By Stephen Kangal
March 06, 2007
We must not fall into the trap being engineered by the Silver Fox and be side-tracked by Panday's public display of his current tantrums of wanting to serve his constituents of Couva North. His current shenanigans conducted in Parliament are geared exclusively to exacting every ounce of public display of loyalty from UNC MP's and Senators and exploiting his pet victimhood strategy while hugging the media headlines. That is ego-driven Panday in full political flight. His Couva North constituents could as well jump into Orange Valley and perish.
Panday as a former Prime Minister is now embarrassing himself and the people of T&T. To use his own words he is making a mockery of Parliament. It is pathetic to hear a former PM talking of his trap to catch the Speaker so that his lawyers can build a case. He knows that he has no place in Parliament because his own UNC members abdicated the responsibility of renewing his leave from the House after 150 days by resolution while pursuing his appeal. He knows that T&T has a written Constitution and UK does not. Parliament cannot take any action such as re-admitting him to the House by petition that infringes and is inconsistent with the written provisions of the Constitution.
The membership of the House is regulated by the 1976 Constitution and not by UK precedent and practice. That is how his seat was declared vacant. The Jones case is not relevant to T&T. Panday's loss of his seat has nothing to do with McNicoll's conviction or quashing of his conviction by the Appeal Court. It has to do with the non-extension of his leave to pursue his appeal process because of arrogance and lack of care for his Couva constituents.
While his lawyers may have provided him with a legal opinion that remains an opinion. The only law- determining or pronouncing agency is the High Court in this instance. Only recently the same UNC colleagues voiced their support for the justice system when Panday was freed.
In fact Panday wants the House to invoke its procedural competence and re-admit him with PNM support. Panday, his lawyers and the UNC MP's know that the High Court will apply the relevant provisions of the Constitution and rule that he cannot now re-assume his vacant Couva North seat. The law is not an ass.
Panday did not want to rely on PNM support previously to retain his seat. But yet he trumped up a Couva North Petition that could have been passed only with PNM support.
Who said that he was quitting electoral politics and got his daughter to deceive the people of Felicity to this effect?
Can we ever believe the Fox Basdeo Panday on anything he says to T&T?
He has no credibility left and that is a signal to quit.
 Send page by E-Mail
|
|
