[UPDATED] Cudjoe, Speaker clash over tweet in Parliament

SEAN DOUGLAS AND CLINT CHAN TACK

SPORTS Minister Shamfa Cudjoe on Friday angrily "demanded" that Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George withdraw a rebuke over a tweet sent during the sitting of the House of Representatives, attributed to Cudjoe but which she denied knowledge of.

The tweet said, "What does Moonilal mean when he asks my colleague if he wants an 'Indian injection.' We did not get dressed to come to the Parliament for this." It was visible when the Speaker spoke at 3 pm but was deleted later.

Annisette-George told MPs such issues had arisen in the past. She had previously chided St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen for online critiques while in the House.

The Speaker was concerned that someone was posting plus the nature of what was sent.

"I want to tell all members that the practice of engaging in social media while the House is in session is unacceptable. It is not to be tolerated.

"So if it is this has been generated from the Member for Tobago West, I would ask her to disengage from that."

She said recent hemispheric parliamentary sessions on disinformation had addressed this issue.

"I'm asking all members to desist from using their device for that purpose during the session.

"If it is the Member from Tobago West to which this Twitter post has generated, I will ask the member to desist from that and I extend that to all members.

The Speaker told the next MP to talk in the debate, but Cudjoe shot up angrily.

"Privilege. I have not been on social media the whole time I am sitting here and I strongly refute what is being thrown my way, Madam Speaker.

"I have not been on social media and I demand that it be retracted. Please, Madam Speaker."

Annisette-George replied, "I could appreciate your angst that you didn't. I did not accuse you of anything. I am saying if it generated from you. As I said I appreciate the type of world we are living in with respect to the potential with social media. So I am asking members to desist from sending while the House is in session."

She said all MPs have a duty to curb misinformation on social media.

Earlier the Speaker sternly warned MPs against racism, taunting and bullying in Parliament, after Minister of Youth Development Fitzgerald Hinds complained about Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal's remark to him.

Annisette-George said, "Taunting is not allowed. Racism is not allowed."

She said while bullying may not be unparliamentary, it was insensitive to the pain citizens including children suffer from bullying.

After indicating she heard what Hinds said, but "unfortunately or fortunately, nothing has filtered up" from Moonilal's seat in the chamber, Annisette-George reminded MPs, "The Chair does not have to hear it. If a member raises it, it is something that I must cast my eye upon."

She said she was not trivialising what Hinds said and "it is really a great infraction if it occurred." Annisette-George also said "there seems to be something" that happens from a certain aisle in the Parliament Chamber which runs from north to south.

"I want to assure all members, even if they sit to the west of the aisle, they are part, an integral part, of this chamber, as much as if they sat to the east of that aisle." She said she expected the same behaviour from MPs sitting on the west and east of the aisle in question.

"I am going to ask us all in the spirit of what our citizens are asking of the nation, including all of us here, that we try to abide by their wishes. There is a bigger duty on us as exemplars."

This story was originally published with the title "Speaker: No racism, taunting, bullying in Parliament" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

SPEAKER of the House Bridgid Annisette-George sternly warned MPs that racism, taunting and bullying will not be allowed in Parliament.

Annisette-George issued this warning after Laventille West MP Fitzgerald Hinds stood up to complain about a comment that Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal made to him.

After instructing Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh to be quiet as he entered the conversation, Annisette-George said, "Taunting is not allowed. Racism is not allowed."

She also observed it was becoming a habit for MPs to accuse each other of bullying.

"While bullying itself may not be unparliamentary, I think accusing one another is at the least insenstive to the pain that a lot of our citizens, many of them children, suffer from bullying. So we should not trivialise that at all."

After indicating she heard what Hinds said, but "unfortunately or fortunately, nothing has filtered up" from Moonilal's seat in the chamber, Annisette-George reminded MPs, "The Chair does not have to hear it. If a member raises it, it is something that I must cast my eye upon."

She said she was not trivialising what Hinds said and "it is really a great infraction if it occurred." Annisette-George also said "there seems to be something" that happens from a certain aisle in the Parliament Chamber which runs from north to south.

"I want to assure all members, even if they sit to the west of the aisle, they are part, an integral part, of this chamber, as much as if they sat to the east of that aisle." She said she expected the same behaviour from MPs sitting on the west and east of the aisle in question.

As she directed MPs to continue, Annisette-George said, "I am going to ask us all in the spirit of what our citizens are asking of the nation, including all of us here, that we try to abide by their wishes. There is a bigger duty on us as exemplars." Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis agreed with Annisette-George.

Later in during the sitting, Sport and Community Development Minister Shamfa Cudjoe tweeted, "What does Moonilal mean when he asks my colleague if he wants an 'indian injection' (sic). We did not get dressed to come to the Parliament for this #JustAnotherdUNCeattack (sic)."

Annisette-George cautioned Cudjoe about this, and the tweet was later deleted from Cudjoe's Twitter page.