Ganga shows Laquis he can get close to East/West corridor

OPPOSITION MP for Caroni East Ganga Singh yesterday underscored his freedom to transverse the East/West corridor, as he delivered greetings at the Indian Arrival Day celebrations at the St Helena Village Eco Park, Piarco. Singh told his constituents and Prime Minister Patrick Manning who was the feature speaker, that he was merely a few feet from the East/West corridor and he was free to transverse at his will, “Laquis or no Laquis”. His remarks which brought laughter from the small crowd, was in reference to the subtle threat by former PNM MP Dr Joe Laquis, that he would not be able to walk the corridor following his allegations against Laquis in the Parliament about a WASA scandal. Singh went on to call on Manning to manage the plurality of society as it pertained to the constitution and to ensure equality for all. Singh noted that there were no CEPEP or URP in St Helena or East Indians holding foreign postings as Ambassadors,  but pointed out that he wasn’t there to talk about those issues.

He said the occasion called for celebration and as such attention should be given to adhering to the constitution in terms of equality, which should be afforded to all citizens. He then called on the PM to put back on the development programme the community centre for St Helena, which constituents urged the PM to have built for them. Singh also insisted that people should not betray what they say. Manning in his speech said whatever his government may have met in office, it was committed to equity in the conduct of its affairs. He said as appointments were made, his government tried to ignore the consideration of class, race and religion, and concentrate on competence. He also said the expansion of the LNG exports and the new oil discovery on the East Coast would ease the pressure for financial resources which forced government to establish priorities. Manning said priority was critical in a plural society because with choices to make, government would always be exposed to allegations of discrimination. He also promised to give St Helena its community centre but told residents to first decide who should be in charge of what. At the start of the programme, Singh warmly embraced Manning as a welcome to the Caroni East constituency, a gesture which seemed to surprise many, especially as a result of the ongoing arguments between the government and the Opposition. Minister of Community Development Joan Yuille-Williams also delivered greetings.