UNC slams Manning for talking to Maha Sabha

THE OPPOSITION UNC yesterday condemned Prime Minister Patrick Manning for addressing a public forum on the Police Reform Bills hosted by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha in St Augustine on Wednesday, accusing him of politicising the Bills before they are debated in the House of Representatives next Tuesday. In a statement, the UNC said it was concerned that the Prime Minister “has caused the police and public servants to appear on a public platform to discuss the Bills” at that forum and claimed this action had compromised the police and “sent a subtle message that the Bills had the full support of the police. “We condemn this cheap and vulgar abuse of power. Mr Manning’s action reinforces our position that the Bills place too much power in the hands of the Prime Minister without safeguards to prevent abuse. Clearly, Mr Manning is hell-bent on undermining our democracy,” the Opposition declared.

On Wednesday, Maha Sabha president general Thirbawhon Seegobin said the idea of the forum was to give Government and Opposition equal opportunity to present their positions on the Bills and field questions from the public. He lamented that a similar forum on Tuesday to allow UNC leader Basdeo Panday to present his case had to be cancelled because Panday said he would not be attending and would send a representative instead. The UNC said it wanted Tuesday’s sitting of the Lower House to be broadcast live to the nation in order to “disabuse the minds of the citizens having been subjected to the propaganda campaign of the ruling PNM Government over the last two weeks.” Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday is likely to reveal the UNC’s final position on the Bills when it holds a public meeting at the Aranjuez Community Centre on Monday.