Kamla has something to hide

PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday said the Opposition United National Congress (UNC)’s refusal to appear before or participate in the Parliament’s National Security Joint Select Committee (JSC) investigations into on the Cambridge Analytica (CA) data mining scandal, speaks volumes about Opposition Leader and UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Rowley made this observation at the post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s. He also said TT and the United Kingdom are cooperating to get to the truth of this scandal. In doing so, Rowley seemingly supported Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi’s hint that whistle blower Christopher Wylie could give evidence before the JSC on an alleged CA data mining project in TT under the former People’s Partnership government. Persad-Bissessar has said the UNC will not participate in the JSC’s investigations into CA.

Rowley, who is People’s National Movement (PNM) political leader, said this, “should tell you all you need to know about Mrs Persad-Bissessar and the government she ran and the opposition that she is running now.” He rejected Persad-Bissessar’s “Monday night rattle” that the PNM used data mining companies in the 2015 general election campaign. Rowley said any resources, entities or people the PNM used in its 2015 campaign, “not by a long stretch of the imagination can any of their input deemed to be anything like the allegations being made against the UNC by persons in CA who work with the UNC.”

Rowley said the fundamental difference between the PNM and UNC is demonstrated by the fact that he appeared before the Land and Physical Infrastructure JSC as prime minister, to answer questions about the seabridge and the Port Authority. He reminded reporters he did this at a time when his administration was being, “pilloried left right and centre by all those who enjoyed that.”

The Prime Minister said unlike the UNC, he was not afraid to be cross examined by parliamentarians. Rowley vowed the CA issue will be fully ventilated in Parliament, with or without the UNC’s participation. He said Persad-Bissessar is trying to make people believe all local political parties were involved in the data mining scandal.