While the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Secretary General Sat Maharaj remained defiant on his TV station yesterday, more criticism over his derogatory statement about Tobagonians continued, with former Maha Sabha executive Devant Maharaj joining the fray.
Devant Maharaj condemned what he called “the vulgar statements of the SDMS Secretary General, Sat Maharaj, regarding the people of Tobago.”
He said that, “Mr Maharaj used the broadest of brushes to paint all Tobagonians in the most derogatory fashion is repugnant to all that we hold dear as Trinbogians.”
“Having fought against social inequality and injustice all my life I cannot now in good conscience remain silent on an issue such as this,” Devant Maharaj said.
He lamented that more people did not come out in condemnation of the comments.
He said, “All nationals must denounce Sat Maharaj’s hateful rhetoric. The constitutional right to freedom of speech is not just a right. It’s also a responsibility.
“We have a duty to speak out against evil, hateful beliefs through free speech of our own that advances our shared value of equality. The struggle against hate will only be won through education and public understanding.”
Barataria/San Juan MP Fuad Khan also called on Sat Maharaj to apologise for his statements.
“When you overstep your bounds and you do foolishness, the correct thing is to just apologise and move on,” said Khan, who referenced to his previous contentious statements while appealing to the SDMS Secretary General in a video posted to Facebook.
“You can’t take one big brush and brush the whole of Tobago as if they are rapists, gigolos, lazy. Many Tobagonians are law-abiding people who work very hard.”