Take back your party if your leaders are not leading and if you can't contact your MPs! That's the advice UNC founder Basdeo Panday delivered on Monday night at a public meeting with UNC/PP supporters at Brothers' Road, Princes Town. Panday's first public meeting, held in the yard of a shop, was attended by a group of people. Panday said he had been asked by residents of Brothers' Road, Princes Town, to come and hear their concerns.
He said the biggest complaint he had consistently heard during the People's Partnership term was that people did not know where to turn when they had problems. "They can't find their councillors and MPs and they do not know what to do-this is what they face daily and they wonder what to do and who to turn to," he said. Panday told the gathering that if their leaders were not leading them, they should recall them and "take back your party." "If you have to do that, you must mobilise yourselves and at the next election, contest the elections and if the elections are stolen from you, then you have the right to form a new party," he said. "If your elected MPs do not function, they should move them...it is your party and you have to take back what was stolen from you."
He acknowledged that people felt alienated. He noted their concern that "opportunists" had emerged from the woodwork and were "getting all the advantages rather than the rank and file." Panday also acknowledged the concerns of people who had made large donations to the party and could not get access to government ministers." He said he personally understood that, since Minister Roodal Moonilal could not be contacted and instead stipulated that people had to leave their phone numbers and he would contact them. Panday said he had not planned to have public meetings, but was willing to hold similar sessions if members of the public had views to communicate to him. (Gail Alexander)
