Panday fires Robin Montano

Montano said the move was also designed to "undermine Winston Dookeran’s position as UNC political leader."

Speaking at a news conference yesterday at his Manswell House law chambers on Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, Montano told journalists that Panday informed him verbally of his dismissal at 12.30 pm yesterday in a private meeting at the Opposition Leader’s Charles Street office in Port-of-Spain. That meeting, Montano said, took place immediately after another meeting at the same venue between members of the Opposition and Tobago hoteliers. The Opposition members who met with the Tobago hoteliers were Panday, Dookeran, Montano, Nizam Baksh, Dr Adesh Nanan, and party CEO Dr Tim Gopeesingh.

Montano said Panday gave no reason for his dismissal, and he had no idea whether a letter stating such had been sent by Panday to President George Maxwell Richards. He also claimed the revocation of his senatorial appointment was designed to bring Maharaj (who he branded "the Great Betrayer") back into the party without any remorse on Maharaj’s part or a decision by the UNC membership to bring him back.

Adding that he would not have opposed Maharaj’s return to the fold if either of the two scenarios had occurred, Montano said he could not accept that "a small clique has any right to bring back a man who caused such damage," saying this could cause an "inevitable split" in the UNC, resulting in its collapse. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," quipped Montano.

Reiterating that Maharaj caused the UNC to lose the government in 2001, Montano claimed that he had information that "a senior UNC elections minister gave the PNM details of Mr Panday’s account in London which has been the beginning and end of Mr Panday’s problems."

Montano also alleged that the individual was not Trevor Sudama or Ralph Maraj who joined Maharaj in 2001 in breaking ranks with the UNC, claiming that then prime minister Panday was doing nothing to investigate allegations of corruption against members of his Cabinet and government.

Stating that he was a member of a faction in the UNC that was trying to help Dookeran consolidate his position, Montano said the faction lobbying to bring back Maharaj into the party compromised high level UNC members and some of them were sitting UNC parliamentarians.

However, Montano refused to identify the persons, but expressed doubt about whether the group within the UNC to which he belonged would be able to thwart the alleged agenda being orchestrated by the alleged "pro-Maharaj" faction in the party.

Asked if Dookeran knew that his senatorial appointment had been revoked by Panday, Montano said he briefly spoke with the UNC political leader about what happened. "He (Dookeran) was shocked and he appeared to me to be upset by it. He knew nothing about it," Montano said. During yesterday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, Dookeran was observed to be in animated conversation with Panday and moreso following Chief Whip Ganga Singh’s departure from the parliamentary chamber and Caroni Central MP Dr Hamza Rafeeq taking over as acting chief whip in Singh’s absence.

Dookeran left Parliament immediately after its adjournment at 4.30 pm, ducking journalists who had assembled there to question him about Montano’s dismissal. The former senator explained that while the Constitution gave Panday the sole right to "appoint or disappoint" persons as Opposition senators, he believed that Panday would have consulted Dookeran on such an important matter as bringing Maharaj back into the party, either through the Senate or some other avenue.

Asked if he felt that Maharaj would take his place in the Senate, Montano grinned and said: "Your guess is as good as mine."

Montano also claimed to have spoken with two UNC MPs who were part of the alleged pro-Maharaj clique three months ago, and those persons said they were not worried that Maharaj’s return would cause Dookeran and his followers to leave the UNC and hand the next general election on a silver platter to the PNM.