Sharma backs back from Parliament

SUSPENDED UNC MP for Fyzabad Chandresh Sharma’s unwavering resolve to attend yesterday’s 1.30 pm sitting of the House of Representatives crumbled at high noon yesterday, when he bowed to the wishes of the UNC’s leadership and stayed away from Parliament. Sharma was “suspended from the services of the House” by House Speaker Barry Sinanan last Friday after he failed to apologise in accordance with a motion passed by the House on May 6, following the approval of the Privileges Committee report into the September 2004 tearoom incident, involving himself and Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

Addressing a news conference at Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday’s Port-of-Spain office at noon, Sharma (with support from UNC chairman Wade Mark and acting Opposition Chief Whip Dr Hamza Rafeeq), claimed one of the reasons for his sudden about-face was reports of a conspiracy between the PNM and elements in the Police Service to make him “a guest of the State,” and also deal with any UNC MP or supporter who came to Parliament yesterday to support him. “I am going to Parliament regardless, that’s my position, up to a few minutes ago. However being a member of a great party which subscribes to discipline and tolerance, I have chosen to follow the party’s advice and my constituents. This is one time. Absolutely nothing on this planet was going to stop me from going into that Parliament,” he declared.

Mark said (and Sharma later agreed) that while the party (including leader Basdeo Panday) felt Sharma’s suspension wrong and supported his position, it neither instructed nor directed him against going to Parliament. The UNC chairman claimed the alleged information it received about what could have happened if Sharma went to Parliament yesterday came from “reliable sources in the Police Service.” Mark and Rafeeq claimed last Friday’s events in Parliament were “the worst examples of abuse of power and high-handedness both by the Government and the Speaker,” and said the UNC has referred the matter to a high-powered team of constitutional lawyers in order to reinstate Sharma as soon as possible. Mark did not know if House Marshall Gilbert Hamilton would be disciplined for whatever role he played in last Friday’s parliamentary drama, but said the UNC supported the police officers who were involved.

“They were acting properly because the Speaker acted illegally when he took the action to remove Chandresh Sharma and to order the police to remove Chandresh Sharma,” he declared. Mark refused to divulge the identities of the UNC’s legal team or its strategies, but hinted that action could be taken against one senior police officer for his alleged role in last Friday’s events. Mark said the UNC’s parliamentary caucus will decide next Wednesday whether it would bring a motion to the House to lift Sharma’s suspension (which Leader of Government Business Ken Valley has already said Government would not support) and if it will file a no-confidence motion against Sinanan. The UNC  already plans to file a no-confidence motion against Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal, and Mark said this will happen shortly.

Mark claimed that the actions against Sharma were a violation of Sections 5(2e) and 55 of the Constitution, which respectively grant persons a right to a fair hearing and certain powers, privileges and immunities to parliamentarians. He said the UNC will write to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association about last Friday’s events, and claimed that Sinanan ignored advice from other Commonwealth parliaments about proceeding with the debate on the Privileges Committee report while there were ongoing, related matters in the courts. The UNC chairman also said a 1956 act governing the powers, privileges and immunities accorded to Lower House MPs must be properly re-enacted because it was out of sync with the Parliament’s Standing Orders and TT’s Republican Constitution.

Sharma maintained his innocence in the tearoom incident and called on Rowley to “seek forgiveness.” “He (Rowley) has committed a wrong and I extend to him my hand of friendship. He must be as big as I am and seek forgiveness,” he said. Asked if he thought Rowley would accept his offer, Sharma replied, “He’d be a fool not to accept it.” Sharma again refused to say if he planned to apologise at last Friday’s sitting of the House, saying that the statement he planned to read at that time is now the subject of legal action and its contents must remain confidential. Sharma said his salary and those of his constituency office staffers were stopped on May 20, but he remained hopeful that Sinanan would reverse his decision to suspend him. Mark said the UNC will do what it could in the interim to help Sharma perform his functions as Fyzabad MP.