Devant Maharaj claims smear campaign against him

FORMER People's Partnership (PP) government minister Devant Maharaj on Monday dismissed claims by the Opposition UNC that his services were ever engaged by anyone who was allegedly linked to the ruling PNM.

In a statement in response to a document being circulated by the UNC on social media, Maharaj said the document is fake. He also disclosed that he has sent it to the police to be investigated.

He said the document, dated November 2022, includes a phone number which he deactivated in February and names a company he knows nothing about. He added that the address of the fictious company is a property which was sold some time ago.

Maharaj said he has asked the police to investigate this document, together with a statement he gave them about alleged prostitution and human-trafficking activity under the PP between May 2010 and September 2015.

He claimed the UNC was circulating the document in an attempt to discredit him.

"How low can the UNC go?

"The lengths the UNC continue to go to to protect and promote persons in the UNC that are engaged in questionable activities should not be surprising to anyone ."

On March 1, Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher said the police will investigate allegations of human trafficking against "senior government officials" in the 2022 US State Department's report on trafficking in persons.

On February 26, the Prime Minister said it is quite normal for reports, such as this one, to refer to all parliamentarians as “senior government officials.”

On March 3, in a virtual response to a question in Parliament, Dr Rowley said no government MPs were involved in human trafficking.