Rowley: Kamla backed SSC 14 times

PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley said that in the Lower House debate on his motion to name a Special Select Committee (SSC) to probe the selection of a Commissioner of Police (CoP), Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar had spoken 14 times in favour of the committee.

In a statement titled, “The power of Sat,” Rowley said the Opposition had only began to voice its rejection of the SSC after Maha Sabha head Sat Maharaj had called for the appointment of acting Deputy CoP Deodat Dulalchan to the post of CoP.

Rowley rejected the views of newspaper columnist Michael Harris that the establishment of the SSC was an elaborate ritual by the Government simply because the Police Service Commission’s (PSC’s) nominee for CoP was East Indian. Rowley said the claim was “deeply offensive” and a “un-informed piece of misrepresentation.”

Rowley went on to cite 14 references made by Persad-Bissessar in support of the role of the SSC, including that the SSC was “a very positive thing to happen,” “a very strong and powerful tool” and “the only way to go.”

Citing excerpts from Persad-Bissessar’s speech in support of the SSC, Rowley said logic demanded Harris also accuse the Opposition of contriving to act against Dulalchan because of his race.

“Amazingly, as soon as the head of the Maha Sabha (Maharaj) came out and publicly called for the appointment of Mr Dulalchan, the Opposition jumped to attention, and the position of Mrs Persad-Bissessar was completely reversed, so much so that today, she considers the numerous flaws in the procedure of the commission to be minor and insignificant.

“Now, she too favours the promoting a completely false narrative of racial bias on the part of the Government against Mr Dulalchan, a position of UNC political gymnastics embarrassingly adopted, without query, by Mr Harris, the columnist.”

Rowley said the Hansard record showed that on February 2, when the SSC was established, there was absolutely no support for Dulalchan on the Opposition benches.

“As can be explained by a careful perusal of the Parliament’s public records, the Select Committee found that the procedure followed by the Commission was arbitrary, defective and lacked transparency.”

He said the House considered the procedure to be unreliable and in the majority concluded no decision emanating from that procedure will be approved by the House.

“As Leader of the PNM (People’s National Movement) and of the Government of this beloved nation, I simply ask of those bent on destroying the beauty of our people and the fabric of this land, that you all just leave the Government and all right-thinking citizens out of your regrettable behaviour of race baiting.

“We subscribe to and practice the tenet that make us who we are: ‘Every creed and race finds an equal place.’”