Panday: UNC is dead
...slams divisiveness in Partnership
By Anna Ramdass anna.ramdass@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Dec 14, 2010 at 11:53 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Dec 14, 2010 at 11:53 PM ECT )
The United National Congress (UNC) is dead.
"I have spent 21 years struggling to build the UNC, my blood, sweat and tears went into this struggle and it hurts me to see it disintegrate like this," said founding father of the party, Basdeo Panday, during a telephone interview on Monday.
Prior to the UNC internal elections and general election which saw the rise of Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar to the posts of political leader, Opposition Leader and eventually Prime Minister, Panday predicted that the UNC would be destroyed.
He said the divisiveness in the coalition and the governance of the People's Partnership signal that the UNC is no more. His comments came mere days after Congress of the People public relations officer Mahendranath Dhaniram raised concerns that the Fyzabad Declaration, which was signed by the five political parties in the People's Partnership, was not honouring the commitment made to the people and in the wake of a division in the key marginal constituency of Tunapuna, where both the United National Congress and the Congress of the People have opened separate offices.
Political Leader of the Congress of the People Winston Dookeran is the current Member of Parliament for Tunapuna.
"I think that the UNC is dead for all intents and purposes. Those who inherited the UNC only use its symbol and name, other than that I think they have abandoned all that we stood for," said Panday.
He said the party's executive was not implementing the policies of the UNC.
Asked to elaborate, he said, "The UNC no longer have that fight and commitment to ease the suffering of the poor. No ordinary person from the party can access their MPs, they are not going to their offices."
Panday, who heads the Basdeo Panday Foundation, said he goes to the Rienzi Complex, Couva, every day where he has an office and meets with people from all walks of life who complain to him that they are not getting help.
Panday criticised the governance of the Partnership, adding, "I think people voted for change but they did not get change. They (Government) are behaving just like the People's National Movement (PNM), they are hiring all the media personnel. The PNM used the same method and spent $300 million on advertisements. I don't see that they are doing anything different, that is what is bothering people a lot."
