Deosaran: We will wait and see

GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION members yesterday said passage of the Bail (Amendment) Bill 2005 at tomorrow’s sitting of the Senate is a fait accompli. The bill will be piloted in the Senate by Attorney-General John Jeremie. Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Dr Lenny Saith, said  the Government has made its position on this piece of enhanced anti-crime legislation crystal clear and is confident that the Senate would support the bill’s passage tomorrow. Saith, Public Administration and Information Minister, said he was confident that the UNC’s six senators would walk the line set by their Lower House colleagues and support the legislation.

Independent Senator Prof Ramesh Deosaran expressed confidence that the Senate would exercise its constitutional responsibility “in the wider public interest” in debating the bill. Observing that what transpired in the Lower House last week appeared to be “the politics of public policy,” Deosaran said the Senate was fundamentally different because it was composed of three divisions—Government, Opposition and Independents. Noting that he and his fellow Independents represented a significant portion of TT’s civil society, Deosaran said they would ensure that these views are presented in tomorrow’s debate.

Senate Opposition Leader Wade Mark said the UNC had taken a certain position where the Bail Bill was concerned and would adopt the same position in the Senate tomorrow. However, Mark stressed that Opposition senators do their best in tomorrow’s debate to outline the concerns of the population on crime. Mark said it remained the State’s responsibility to provide adequate levels of safety and security for the population. Prior to the bill’s passage in the Lower House last Friday, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said the population would gain greater respect for the nation’s politicians,  if they were able to continue to display maturity on critical national issues such as crime. But Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday said Government can no longer blame the UNC for its inability to deal with crime because of the support it has given to the Bail Bill.