Panday not staying in politics

NEW DELHI: OPPOSITION LEADER Basdeo Panday told a group of Indian journalists he does not plan to stay in politics. “I don’t think I will stay on,” he said adding, “I plan to write a book on the political history of the island spanning the period 1945-2005.” The UNC political leader was the chief guest at a function organised by the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO international). Panday arrived in India yesterday and will be here until January 17. He will chair a segment of the second conference of the Parvasi Bharatiya Nivas (January 9-11) to be held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. Speaking to a group of reporters, he said racial discrimination has done a strange thing in Trinidad. He said it served to unite the Indians and helped them to identify as a group. He said Indians were dismissed from government service following the coming of power of the ruling PNM government and racial discrimination intensified.

He also said he has an emotional attachment to India and has begun to learn Hindi. “Culturally I am an Indian and philosophically I am a Hindu but I only go to the temples for politics,” he joked. He told the group the Indian diaspora had great potential but its emphasis is on economics. “I plan to move for a change. “The diaspora must take into consideration the fate of the rich and the poor.” The second conference of the PBN begins today. It is geared to involve non-resident Indians (NRI’s) and people of Indian origin  in Indian investment and has offered a number of schemes whereby Indians all over the world can invest in the country by owning homes and businesses. Also attending the conference is Satnarayan Maharaj, Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha. Maharaj spent four days as guest of the Uttar Pradesh Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri and visited his ancestral home in Basti.

The newly appointed TT High Commissioner to India, Pundit Manideo Persad, presented his credentials at Rastrapati Bhawan on December 30 and later hosted a cocktail party at the Taj Palace Hotel. He said he plans to strengthen cultural ties, send Indian tourists to Trinidad, encourage Indian technology and agriculture to migrate to the island. Drupati Ramgoonai and Rikki Jai are also here for the conference along with the Gayatones Orchestra. They are staying at the Ashoka Hotel while Panday and his group are booked at Le Meridan, and journalists at the Oberoi. The former Prime Minister plans to travel to Gujurat before returning home.