Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has called on the country to reject all claims made by the United National Congress, as he dismissed recent statements by the opposition leader about the discontinued corruption case surrounding the Piarco Airport scandal.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar stated at a UNC forum on Monday that the entire matter was due to a smear campaign by PNM.
LIES! the PM said, while speaking to citizens in Barataria on Thursday night during a PNM meeting.
“She has the gall to talk about good news and say that PNM was behind people being charged and it is persecuting people. Kamla Persad Bissessar, yuh lie,” Rowley said.
Rowley said that Persad Bissessar “knew what she was doing” when on Monday at a political forum said the PNM was behind the arrests and charges. He warned that believing her could not only lead to more corruption but could affect similar court cases with the same people currently ongoing abroad.
“When they can get up and tell the world that the complaints of the state are political prosecution and persons should not be held accountable, I am asking the country to reject it. It creates the environment to breed more corruption especially when there is a tinge of racism. When police hold a person people could say it is because I am a UNC or I am an Indian. If you could raise that as a defense, where does the corruption end?”
He raised PNM’s issues with corruption, going as far back as the Dansam Dansook case which led to two then sitting PNM ministers having to resign, and the Marlene Mc Donald case where she too, had to give up ministerial posts because of her suspicion and charges of corruption.
He said those suspected in illegal activities had no place in the PNM party but the UNC had a bad habit of holding close people with skeletons in their closets, reminding the crowd of section 34, the then Attorney General Annand Ramlogan’s involvement in the reversal of the extradition of Jack Warner and the LifeSport scandals.
“If alligator come out a river and tell you water dirty no doubt am,” he said. “When the leader is faced in front the whole country with members of your cabinet pointing to members of your selection who you put inside the parliament; and that now stains the country because the Americans have put in a report that in TT there are people in the parliament who either have been or are involved in human trafficking, the shame would make you say anything.”
“If I were leading that party no one like that would be a dog catcher much less a parliamentarian,” he said. “We operate to a different standard. You think anyone could be on a million dollar bail and sit in parliament behind me?”
“I was in the parliament when they contrived section 34 and the single purpose of it being proclaimed was to give the opportunity for people well known to Kamla Persad-Bissessar not appear in court.”
“Tobagonians went and embarrassed themselves and voted for Duke and the UNC started jumping up and down. We grow up knowing about foot in mouth, Duke have foot all about.”
“Notice the embrace,” he added. “The more despicable you are the tighter you are hugged by Kamla Persad-Bissessar – but again we learn in school that birds of a feather flock together.”
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