By Prior Beharry
DEPUTY Political Leader of the United National Congress (UNC) Dr Roodal Moonilal says his colleague Mayaro MP Rushton Paray “absconded” from meetings with high-ranking officials of the party on at least two occasions in the Parliament.
Speaking at the Opposition’s weekly media briefing at the party’s headquarters in Chaguanas, Dr Moonilal said, “I want to place on record that on two occasions in the Parliament, Mrs Persad-Bissessar, myself, and I believe Dr David Lee, the chief whip, deputy political leader, attempted to meet the member from Mayaro to speak to these issues.
“And on both occasions, we were told that the particular member had another engagement of one kind of another. One, I believe was a religious, funeral matter; one was another meeting.”
He said, “So, on both occasions, when we arranged our own schedule to have a discussion with the member, the member aborted, absconded to meet the political leader and the deputy political leaders.”
Paray held a press conference last Friday to call for internal elections in the UNC.
Asked by AZP News then if he has spoken with UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar about the issue, he replied, “I have been in conversations with the political leader for the last couple weeks. I have also written to her on several occasions on matters that I do feel we need to address as a party before going into the next general elections.” Paray said then he was still waiting on a response from Persad-Bissessar.
Dr Moonilal said Paray had taken an internal matter of the UNC and placed it on a national stage which was not for the “national community to consume.”
He said the UNC has taken no decision on postponing internal elections.
Dr Moonilal said, “No decision has been taken. In fact, it has not even been discussed. That election as you know may be due in June July and so on and there have been no discussion.”
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