?Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj said the appointment of Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner as Chief Whip was flawed as MPs were not consulted on the matter. He said so in a letter, dated February 3, sent to the general secretary of the United National Congress (UNC) Glen Ramdharsingh shortly before the start of the party's parliamentary caucus yesterday at Rienzi Complex. Maharaj said MPs were entitled to know the name of the person being proposed for the post and also be allowed to express their views in support or against the individual.
He said those views must be genuinely considered before a decision was taken.
Maharaj added: "This was not done in the appointment of the Chief Whip. It is important therefore for this procedural flaw to be corrected. "If it is not corrected it would be unfair not only to the Members of Parliament but to the MP who was appointed Chief Whip. "The flawed process cannot generate the confidence of members in the appointment which was made." He then called on the caucus to consider the matter as "it can have adverse effects on the party in Parliament."
Maharaj also said in his letter that the conduct of the party's national executive elections should be investigated because of the "gross irregularities" associated with it. He said the purpose of the investigation was "not to change the results of the elections but to give members the opportunity to air their concerns and for them to be assured that their concerns would be taken into account in creating a fair election machinery for the future." Maharaj said the right of members to vote in the January 24 polls was "flagrantly denied."