PNM prepares for more UNC fallout

THE RULING PNM will be prepared to contest by-elections in the Pointe-a-Pierre and Barataria/San Juan constituencies if respective incumbent MPs, Gillian Lucky and Dr Fuad Khan, are forced to give up their seats in the House of Representatives. On Monday, Lucky and Khan announced that they would serve out the remainder of their parliamentary term as “independent UNC MPs” and vote on the basis of conscience rather than toe the party line.

Lucky’s move was based on events at a recent parliamentary caucus where Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday was critical of her decision to sign the report of the Lower House’s Privileges Committee on the teacup incident between Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma. Princes Town MP Subhas Panday, the other UNC MP on the Privileges Committee, did not sign that report. On Tuesday, St Joseph MP Gerald Yetming expressed his support for Lucky and Khan but said he would not be joining them as Independents.

Speaking with reporters following a meeting at the TT Manufacturers’ Association’s Barataria headquarters yesterday, PNM chairman and Works Minister Franklin Khan said the party would discuss these developments at its regular leadership meeting at Balisier House later in the day. “Off the cuff, we are not raising a hullabaloo about it. We see that as a UNC matter in the short term. We are monitoring to see how the situation unfolds and affects the body politics of Trinidad. A lot more has to unfold before we make a move,” Khan said.