The Ramesh factor
THE EDITOR: Ramesh, in spite of launching a new party, won’t leave the party. Or to put it another way, the party won’t leave him. What is interesting is that this same Ramesh had called for probes into allegations into corruption in the UNC when it was in government. This is a serious matter and in fact subsequent developments are leading us to speculate wildly on the authenticity of those allegations. This has been called the politics of sheer ambition by some who should know, but to the outsider looking in the politics of principles seem to be seriously involved. Perhaps the view of Panday rushing with open arms to embrace Ramesh into the folds of the UNC could have been seen as the desperate move of a leader beset with woes, clutching at straws. Who knows what thoughts are tangled in that silver head? Whatever his motives he found a positive response from Mr Maharaj who gave the impression that whatever transpired was water under the bridge and he would not sit idly by and let the party’s cause be subverted. The old silver haired one was gratified and he promised, if we are to believe the press, a senatorial seat to the "young man." To this day he continues to follow what could be termed as a policy of "Forgive and Forget," let bygones be bygones and unite to fight the enemy. But there are those who fear Ramesh and they are not prepared to forget, they presented a poster with Maharaj and our Prime Minister shaking hands with the bold caption "Never forget, never forgive." Winston Dookeran leads the pack and he has support. He proclaimed to a captive audience about "what happened when the politics of sheer ambition took control of the politics of principles." What happened to the party I suppose he meant. He made no bones about how he felt about Maharaj’s re-entry in the UNC. One would suppose tripartite UNC with three heads is a most unappealing prospect. In this latest imbroglio Ramesh made a few tentative steps as though checking the water but is remaining a bit distant and aloof for the time being. What is constant is the fact that he has support still within the party, as Mr Panday is aware, that neither Mr Yet Ming nor the quibbling Jack can ever hope to maintain. He is a force to be reckoned with, and Dookeran in an effort to give his leadership role significance has to overcome this major obstacle that Panday is prepared to use, with the utmost dispatch. GEORGE DAMIEN Arima
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"The Ramesh factor"