PM: Baboolal, Sinanan attacked for being Indian

Prime Minister Patrick Manning said yesterday that it was clear that the UNC was consistently attacking House Speaker Barry Sinanan and Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal because they were East Indians.

“That is not new and that is exactly the strategy (to attack East Indians in the PNM). It has been used before by the UNC. Why are we surprised at that? I could have written the script. That was completely anticipated by us.” He was speaking at a post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall. Asked what would Government do to protect the two individuals, Manning said Government had a clear majority in the House of Representatives and a not-so clear majority in the Senate. But, if it was necessary, it would use its numerical strength to protect “against political predators who sit on the Opposition benches”.

Manning was also questioned on the claim by Maha Sabha head, Sat Maharaj, that state-owned National Lotteries Control Board distributed over $4 million dollars to various groups but just $100,000 went to Hindu groups and this constituted discrimination. Maharaj had stated that he would write to the Prime Minister on the issue. Manning said he hadn’t received Maharaj’s letter yet but he was “awaiting that letter with peak and bated breath”. He said while the State had no right intervening in the lives of people unduly, there were some realities in the country that had to be faced.  

The Prime Minister stated: “Hindu groups will tell you that when they try to raise money, they don’t have too much difficulty doing it. They would have some difficulty raising the full extent of the money they would like to raise. In other words they have a shortfall, but the shortfall its nothing like the shortfall that other groups in the society experience and therefore if the government has to intervene, it will intervene only to the extent that it is necessary. If your shortfall is small, then the contribution to you would be small. If the shortfall is larger, then the contribution to you would be larger.” Manning said he was talking generally, not specifically about NLCB.