Dookeran meets with Panday

Sources said Dookeran called Panday on Saturday evening and went to see him the next day. Dookeran has been roundly criticised by the pro-Panday faction within the UNC for not attending court or calling Panday to commiserate with him, on his court battles.

Dookeran has another important meeting tomorrow afternoon when he is expected to meet Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to discuss the Chief Whip issue. This meeting will be held at his St Augustine constituency office.

Sources in the Dookeran camp said Hamza Rafeeq was one of several persons being considered. The others were Kelvin Ramnath and Dr Roodal Moonilal.

On reports that Dookeran failed to attend Sunday’s UNC caucus at which Rafeeq was selected by the pro-Persad-Bissessar faction, Dookeran’s information attache Nirad Tewarie stated he (Dookeran) received no communication inviting him to the meeting.

Tewarie pointed out that the UNC constitution states the Political Leader shall appoint as Chief Whip, the person he sees fit after consultation with other MPs.

Persad-Bissessar told Newsday that following up on the decision of Sunday’s caucus, a letter was sent to Dookeran informing him that the UNC MPs present (which constitute a majority) had recommended Hamza Rafeeq.

“I am sure that Winston has the country at heart. We share the same vision and mission for good governance and for prosperity and equality for this nation. In view of this, I feel good sense will prevail and Hamza will be appointed,” Persad-Bissessar said.

She explained why Rafeeq was a good choice to replace Ganga Singh who resigned last Friday, by saying: “Hamza worked well as a deputy Chief Whip. He acts in moderation, is even-tempered, has a geniune human kindness and is a good mediator and peacemaker. And we need all that (in the Chief Whip) particularly at this time.”

She added that Dookeran’s endorsement of Rafeeq would pre-empt any “ridiculous situation” of the UNC having “three and four” whips in Parliament.

“With Winston having a Whip; Kamla having one Whip...We don’t want to end up with that ludicrous situation,” the Opposition Leader said.

There are at present several mutations of the Opposition which now consists of one non-UNC member Gerald Yetming; two independent UNC members (Fuad Khan and Gillian Lucky); a pro-Panday/Persad-Bissessar faction and a pro-Dookeran faction.

“So we could (potentially) end up with four and five Whips,” Persad-Bissessar noted.

However parliamentary authorities insisted yesterday that there could only be as many Whips as there are political parties.

“The only MP who is not under the UNC Whip is Yetming, who officially informed the Speaker in writing that he had resigned from the UNC.

Everyone else is under the (UNC) Whip and that Whip is imposed by the Political Leader, who communicates through the Chief Whip,” the source noted.

Asked yesterday whether there could be more than one Whip given the developments within the UNC, House Speaker Barry Sinanan was playing it close to his chest. “Come to Parliament on Friday and you will find out. That is the only comment I am prepared to make right now,” he said.