UNC ‘Bombshell’: ‘I never told the media I didn’t resign’

DR ANIRUDH MAHABIR, the United National Con-gress’ candidate whose letter of resignation was revealed by Health Minister Colm Imbert on Tuesday, yesterday denied telling the media that he had not resigned as Head of the Department of Ophthal-mology at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Mahabir, bandied about as UNC’s “bombshell” candidate, reportedly told the media on Monday that he had not resigned. Imbert, attending the sod-turning ceremony to commence construction of the $33.6 million expansion of the San Fernando General Hospital, made it a point of duty to carry a copy of Mahabir’s resignation. The minister also provided the media with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Hamid O’Brien’s reply.

Asked yesterday to clarify the issue of his resignation, Mahabir said: “I never told the media I did not resign; I do not wish to comment on it.” Mahabir told Newsday that the question of his resignation did not arise because as far as he was aware, public service regulations takes effect only upon election of the public servant and upon his swearing in. O’Brien has written to Mahabir informing him that the authority to accept retirement had been delegated to the Public Service Commis-sion.

Mahabir yesterday took issue with statements made by Prime Minister Patrick Manning that he (Mahabir) had no place in politics. “For the Prime Minister to say this, means that I’m no barren fruit or just dirt and rocks, but a force in Tarouba/Cocoyea to reckon with,” Mahabir said.