Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was in fiery form on Thursday night, slamming the Opposition United National Congress and even the media.
Addressing a PNM rally at San Fernando City Hall auditorium, on Thursday night, Dr Rowley told his supporters that he was not a dictator and denied breaching the constitutional rights of citizens by not calling local government elections.
He criticised the Opposition leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar for continuously targeting his minister, Faris Al-Rawi.
Rowley praised Al-Rawi, who represented T&T in the Piarco corruption probe.
Although the case was lost at the Privy Council, Rowley said Al-Rawi had done his duty to this country.
Rowley told his supporters: “If you hear them! Faris Faris! Faris. Fire Faris! Everyday Fire Faris! That unrelenting call to fire Faris.”
“They wanted him out as the Attorney General. Faris was authorised to follow white-collar crime and he did so brilliantly. If I was stupid to partake in that advice that 1 billion dollar case would have fallen,” he said, adding that the government had won the case in the lower courts.
He later accused Persad-Bissessar of hiding restitution monies which the government obtained from people who had pleaded guilty in an American court.
“When the American government seized and jailed the Americans who pleaded guilty to corruption, some of the restitution money came back here and Kamla received that money in silence and never said a word.”
He said he had no regrets about having Al-Rawi on the case.
“I kept him there for 7 years and at the end of the seven years mission accomplished!” he added. Dr Rowley also alleged that former Attorney General Anand Ramlogan had refused to prosecute the matter for five years. He recalled the scandal of Section 34 saying back then he had led the charge to have T&T stand up to the then-Persad-Bissessar government.
Mainstream media also got a tongue-lashing from the PM.
He claimed local media was working the people who did not like the PNM.
The PM said some elements had questions to answer as to why they only focus on the UNC’s misdirection and not their conduct in the Piarco scandal and other corruption matters.
Rowley told the population this is the kind of behaviour the UNC is offering them, “and I am saying no to that!”
He claimed all the UNC does was delay and obstruct.