Ramesh and Panday to speak on same platform

It comes on the heels of reports that Maharaj has offered support to Panday as Opposition Leader. Newsday has learnt that public meetings are being planned by certain Opposition MPs who back Panday as Opposition Leader.

Panday is to be the main speaker at the meeting, but one MP told Newsday yesterday that Maharaj will be invited as a legal expert to discuss the issue of Panday’s role as Opposition Leader and why there was no need for him to resign his position. Contacted at his home yesterday, Maharaj, in a telephone interview told Newsday that political fairness demands he support Panday, "and if invited to speak out on the issue by Mr Panday, I will accept."

Reiterating that President George Maxwell Richards could not remove the Opposition Leader by mere signatures from nine MPs to favour Dookeran, Maharaj said he supports the idea of having the issue discussed publicly.

MPs must consult with their respective constituents before they could vote on this, he said. Asked if he would appear on the same platform with Panday, Maharaj said: "This is a matter of fairness — the removal of the Opposition Leader — simply by virtue of the fact that a person is a political leader of a party. I will be prepared, if Mr Panday invites me, to talk as a guest speaker on this matter which involves the protection of the public interest."

Maharaj’s ACT TNT organisation will hold a public meeting on November 13, on Gulf View grounds at which the stand-off between UNC MPs will be discussed.