war of words is escalating between Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
In a statement, the Prime Minister accused the People’s National Movement of being controlled by elite financiers and claimed the party was protecting Senator Faris Al-Rawi following a parliamentary dispute.
“When all PNM MPs hastily fled parliament upon the call to remove Faris al Rawi from the Senate, they showed themselves to be a party totally controlled by its fake-elite financiers, existing only to serve them,: she wrote on Friday.
“It appears that Pennelope Beckles cannot touch Faris al Rawi, as she must adhere to the dictates of the PNM’s financiers, who have slyly replaced the former PNM leadership with her.”
But Beckles has rejected those claims, describing them as “spurious” and defending the Opposition’s walkout as a principled stand over procedural breaches.
“Our decision to walk out of the Parliament was a principled stand against a Government that abused its parliamentary majority, ignored Standing Orders, and allowed proceedings to descend into disorder and theatrics,” the Opposition Leader stated.
She also criticized the Prime Minister’s absence from the sitting, insisting the Opposition will uphold due process and resist intimidation.
“Had Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar taken the time to attend the Parliamentary sitting on Friday, she may have possessed some moral authority to comment on the proceedings; but in her usual fashion, she seeks to pontificate on matters which she did not witness. She was absent from the Chamber on Friday, absent from the debate, and absent from the facts,” she stated.
