Dookeran hailed

The accolade came at a UNC meeting at Pasea Road in Tunapuna on Monday night.

Noting the insults by certain executive members to Dookeran who had always kept his peace, Maharaj said the greatest world leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King had not been “badjohns” but men of peace.

Kama Maharaj said Dookeran could expand the appeal of the party so as to exceed its best-ever general election showing of 19 seats. “In the mind of the population we are a tribal party but for the first time ever we have a political leader who can make this a truly national party.”

Maharaj said the so-called “cabal” controlling the UNC national executive simply want to hold on to their posts in the Opposition, whereas Dookeran wants to take the party into government.

St Augustine UNC Constituency chairman, Jameson Bahadur, read a past speech of Dookeran who had said: “Don’t mistake my politeness for weakness. Don’t mistake my patience for indecision.”

He said a girl had once described Dookeran as having humility, openess, principle and endurance, with the first letter of each of these qualities spelling out the acronym, HOPE.

“I say to you, Winston Dookeran is the only hope for Trinidad and Tobago,” he concluded.