Progressive Democratic Patriots leader Watson Duke has accused the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) of victimisation, after he was escorted out of a THA plenary sitting during a debate to reprioritise Tobago’s 2024 Budget allocation on Thursday afternoon.
During the session, Presiding Officer Abby Taylor asked the police to remove Duke from the chamber after he rose on a point of clarity regarding the speaking order for the debate.
As Duke demanded the attention of Taylor, who instead remained silent, he was ignored for a couple of seconds before being asked to have a seat. Taylor then turned to an officer on her side and asked to have Duke removed.
A female officer, assisted by a male officer, cautioned Duke, even as he continued to demand the Presiding Officer’s attention on his way out of the chamber and off the compound.
Duke later explained that the Presiding Officer had told him, before the sitting broke for lunch, that he was up next after the break. However, when the sitting resumed, the Presiding Officer did not acknowledge him and instead bypassed him.
Speaking to journalists during a media conference yesterday, Duke said, “Its like a God syndrome. They have become Gods. When the Presiding Officer is low enough to say within the house that whosoever her eyes caught will speak, to me it’s an attack on our democracy. Where is the balance and reasonableness?”
Duke said this was not the first time he was experiencing this.
“For Tobago, it was a very disgusting show. Where is the justice and equity? I will not succumb to the threats or the bully tactics of the Presiding Officer. And if we cannot fight it inside there, we are going to fight it outside.”
Duke said he will still give his response to the Budget without the control and disruption of the THA Executive.—Elizabeth Gonzales