Bharath: UNC 'dictatorship' coerces ‘loyalty’

FORMER trade minister Vasant Bharath, who is vying to become United National Congress (UNC) leader in the December 6 internal elections, described the party’s current leadership as a “dictatorship.” He alleged the leadership was now trying to coerce pledges of loyalty from various party units for the candidacy of UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

“The UNC Facebook Page and the Monday Night forum has been used to shamelessly campaign on behalf of Mrs Bissessar and her slate.”

He alleged UNC MPs constituency offices were being used to canvass for the Persad-Bissessar slate. Bharath asked why she had not accepted his help to fight the PNM in the last election, and invited her to meet him for a leadership debate.

Saying his post on the Roadmap to Recovery Committee did not signal support for the Government, he asked if Persad-Bissessar was supporting the People’s National Movement in feeding a cupcake to PNM head Dr Keith Rowley, or taking him to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s funeral.

Questioning the integrity and fairness of the election process, he alleged the day after Persad-Bissessar was overheard in a Zoom broadcast saying she had been working on a manual, the election committee had published its rules.

While activist Devant Maharaj had hinted at a single document, a Persad-Bissessar loyalist (Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial) had said the leader had been crafting poll agent guidelines.

Bharath said it was odd that neither Persad-Bissessar nor the election committee had clarified the matter. Neither entity had replied to his letters seeking a meeting, he added.

“How could you develop a manual to train persons before the actual rules are published? Regretfully, I am of the view that these rules were created by Mrs Bissessar and her lawyers and given to the elections committee.”

He said this was an abuse of power. Bharath asked if the committee was “taking instructions.”

He also asked how Siparia constituency had five polling divisions for the UNC election when other constituencies had fewer.