Is Manning playing football?

The Opposition will not support the relocation of the Parliament. Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday said Monday that he did not agree with the decision to use the Red House for the Prime Minister’s office or with the decision to take over part of the President’s Grounds — normally used by the public — to facilitate  the expansion of the Prime Minister’s official residence. Speaking with the media, Panday said he could not understand why the PM wanted the grounds. “What does he want to do? Play football, cricket?” Panday asked. He recalled that when he was Prime Minister and he lived at the official residence,  he found it “quite acceptable” for the people to have use of those grounds.

On the Red House eviction, Panday said he believed that one must respect one’s history since “it provides a foundation for the whole society.” “The Red House has a history of being our Parliament, and I believe it should remain the place of the Parliament,” he said, adding that the PM taking it over added nothing to the country’s history. “He is already building a new house. He will probably build one so big that it can serve as his office as well,” Panday quipped. Asked if the Government could move the Parliament without coming for its approval, Panday said it could be done. He explained that according to the Constitution, the President appointed the time and place of the Parliament. He recalled that in 1990 the Parliament was moved temporarily to the Central Bank.

Independent Senator Prof Ramesh Deosaran, who is chairman of the Joint Select Committee, said yesterday that the Parliament appeared to be “hapless, helpless and hopeless” in the shaping of its own destiny and in living up to the political expectation of a proper Parliament. “Why can’t we decide where we should go. I thought there was a well-examined, well-defined separation of powers (between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary). If Parliament can’t decide where it should reside, then Parliament is hapless, helpless and hopeless.” Deosaran said that while there was a need to improve the facilities for parliamentary work, “once again the Government has committed a serious blunder in the process.” He added that in a democracy, the process was just as important as the product of decision-making. “It is discomforting to see the Executive has seemingly arbitrary powers over the bi-cameral Parliament,” he said.