?Op­po­si­tion Leader Bas­deo Pan­day has called on the na­tion to look to the fu­ture with hope de­spite the many chal­lenges, as it cel­e­brates Di­vali.

He al­so ap­pealed to the Hin­du com­mu­ni­ty to re­mem­ber the fore­fa­thers who were in­stru­men­tal in pre­serv­ing the rich cul­tur­al be­liefs and to think about the poor and hun­gry. He said it was through the light that the splen­dour of this world was re­vealed and as the na­tion cel­e­brates Di­vali, to re­mem­ber that in or­der to con­quer dark­ness, there was a need to unite and work to­geth­er as one.

He added that as Di­vali sig­ni­fies the need for com­mu­ni­ty and vil­lage, and by ex­ten­sion the na­tion, to unite for a com­mon pur­pose, the na­tion must al­so take this time to deal with the many chal­lenges that face the coun­try such as crime, high food prices and health is­sues. On be­half of his fam­i­ly, of­fi­cers of the UNC and the Par­lia­men­tary Op­po­si­tion, Pan­day ex­tends warm Di­vali greet­ings to each mem­ber of the na­tion­al com­mu­ni­ty. "May Moth­er Lak­sh­mi show­er bless­ings of peace, hap­pi­ness, pros­per­i­ty and uni­ty on all the cit­i­zens of T&T," said Pan­day.