The Piarco Airport case that dragged on against former prime minister Basdeo Panday, his wife Oma and and others for 25 years were all part of the People's National Movement's smear and slander machine of lies to make people feel the United National Congress was corrupt, says UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
"And you must never get chained up by the smears, slander and propaganda that the PNM perpetrates! Do not believe their slanderous claims! And they'll come with more!” Persad- Bissessar warned at last night's UNC Forum in Chaguanas.
Accusing the PNM of using a smear and slander machine as a smokescreen, she added, "After 25 years of slander and lies to try to bring down the UNC government, the case against Mr Panday, his wife, Ish Galbaransingh, Brian Kuei Tung and Carlos John - 25 years of persecuting these people for the Piarco matter, it's collapsed! This sort of smear and slander is a major flank of the PNM's campaign!"
Saying the Piarco case was played out year after year, decade after decade, Persad-Bissessar said it was never meant to succeed in court but to drag on as long as possible to have the UNC seen as corrupt.
"Mr and Mrs Panday up and down in court for 25 years! Every time they go to court, people saying 'Look, look, UNC crooks!' Front page, back page! Even when he was going to form the government they were trying to discredit him."
She cited a 1995 study by a US Centre which noted the “Harassment of Basdeo Panday" by the then-PM, AG, DPP and other legal and political people.
Persad-Bissessar said the Piarco Airport issue also morphed into the controversy of the Section 34 matter,
"I have nothing to apologise for on that. Nobody escaped from court with section 34!"
Persad-Bissessar noted that Emailgate was one of the wickedest hoaxes - which also collapsed. She cited a recent newspaper story on her email allegedly being hacked in the Emailgate issue.
Persad-Bissessar questioned if a well-known businessman was the one alleged in the article who paid for Emailgate and the Israeli spies' work.
Senator Anil Roberts meanwhile called on the Police Commissioner to probe - and for the Integrity Commission to say - if Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi sold two Porsches in 2016 and if those were declared.
Roberts also warned PDP leader Watson Duke the UNC had been taking up the issue of East PoS people for a long time and if Duke “now wake up."
MP Vandana Mohit, who said people cannot even eat “roti and butter which we grew up on” due to high food prices, will bring a motion on prices in Parliament. She called on PNM Senator Rishi Sookhai to say if he still stood by complaints he made in September 2022 about the economy after he “leapfrogged the political fence."
Deputy leader Jearlean John slammed the fact that it took 50 police to evict six familes from HDC premises last weekend, adding, "Then you ask why there is crime?!"
MP Barry also Padarath claimed the Regulated Industries Commission's consultations on proposed rate hikes is a mere “pappyshow,” since the rate to be imposed from June 1 is already known. He warned RIC that the UNC would do everything legally to halt the hikes “even if means going to court!”