Kamla scoffs at Faris: ' You toting feeling, boy'

UNC supporters, some blowing horns, wave flags and posters of local government candidates at a meeting in Rousillac on Friday night. - Vashti Singh
UNC supporters, some blowing horns, wave flags and posters of local government candidates at a meeting in Rousillac on Friday night. - Vashti Singh

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has scoffed at statements by members of the ruling PNM administration that it sabotaged the passage of the Bail Amendment Bill during the last parliamentary sitting.

She was addressing a large contingent of UNC supporters at Grants Road, Rousillac on Friday night.

Persad-Bissessar made light of Government’s criticisms, especially those of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, who she said seemed to become especially aggrieved whenever she did not attend Parliament.

“I didn’t go to the Parliament the last day and I hear Faris crying all about, ‘The opposition leader didn’t come Parliament, how come…’

“Faris, you toting feeling, boy. Is a little tabanca,” she said as the crowd waved their flags lustily, erupting in laughter.

“Faris, I don’t need to listen to you, boy. I know that bill was nonsense ­– this is the Bail Amendment Bill,” she told the crowd. “He is saying the UNC and the opposition leader sabotage the bill. How did we sabotage it? Because I wasn’t there.

“Well, Faris, where was your PM? Where was PM Rowley? He wasn’t there to talk or vote on the bill, so what you blaming me for?

“Is the Government’s duty to have their members present to vote when the time comes to vote on any bill, and especially for a special-majority bill. So don’t blame Kamla. Blame the bad law that you were trying to put in place.”

She then offered a lifeline for the bill, saying the Opposition would support it if it contains certain amendments it had proposed.

“We will not support it in its present form. But I said, we will support it, but you have to have a clause in that bill which says that persons (denied bail) must already have a previous conviction.”

Persad-Bissessar waded into statements by Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, who, at a public meeting, reportedly asked questions about her Philippine, San Fernando home.

She said that tactic had been tried by a former PM, before the 2010 general election.

But, she said, “We ­– Dr Bissessar (her husband) and myself – worked hard for it. We built it over a long period of time. So don’t jealous my house.”

Referring to a bridge built on land belonging to Sinanan, she said he should be better named “Ro-land” instead of Rohan, because of his extensive land ownership.

With the marginal Siparia Regional Corporation up for grabs, she predicted it would return to the opposition party despite the last-minute road-paving by the ruling PNM.

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"Kamla scoffs at Faris: ‘ You toting feeling, boy’"

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