A 12-member disciplinary team will be convened when the UNC’s national executive, which was installed Monday, begins work.
Guardian Media was told yesterday that the team will be considering the move by Cumuto/Manzanilla MP Dr Rai Ragbir to vote alongside the Government last Friday, which secured the passage of the Whistleblower Protection Bill.
Ragbir will be able to have legal representation when he appears before the disciplinary team. On Monday, during a political meeting, UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said Ragbir would be given due process. She said the probe into his conduct would be done fairly, and he would have an opportunity to be heard about his actions.
The UNC’s Constitution indicates that any party member serving in Parliament or any municipal corporation or other public forum who votes contrary to the UNC’s declared policies, principles, programmes, or directives—or who wilfully omits to vote or to act in accordance with any of these—is liable to immediate suspension pending determination by the UNC’s Disciplinary Committee.
Lee: A blatant lie
On Monday evening, Opposition Chief Whip David Lee claimed Ragbir’s claims about no UNC caucus being held on the bill as a “blatant lie!” Ragbir had said there was no parliamentary caucus held by the Opposition to discuss voting on the bill. Ragbir added that his views were not solicited by the Chief Whip or the Leader of the Opposition. But Lee said on Monday, “I denounce and reject the political vindictiveness of Rai Ragbir to say his action for the PNM was in ‘the nation’s interest’, his vote for the bill wasn’t a vote in the national interest!”
Alluding to actions that betray UNC members and values, Lee said, “Our MPs took a stance based on significant legal research and based on their own review that the national interest could only be preserved if we voted against this law. Had Ragbir attended the opposition caucus, he’d have known that. Had he been in the caucus as he should have, he’d have known what was in the nation’s best interest. Stop trying to mislead T&T by saying there was no caucus! Tell them the truth, MP Ragbir, that it is you who’ve stopped attending opposition caucuses.”
Lee gave timelines of the UNC’s voting on the bill from 2015 to 2022. He said on February 3, 2022, the Opposition Leader emailed all MPs a detailed research brief on the bill at 5.50 pm, and at 7.30 pm, he claimed Ragbir responded, saying he received it and thanked her.
“Yet he says we ‘don’t give him anything’,” Lee added.
He said on February 4, 2022, in Parliament, in the conference room caucus ahead of the vote, MPs, including Ragbir, agreed to vote against the bill. When the bill was returned last week, he said the usual caucus is held to discuss it, “But Rai and company don’t attend.”
“Rai Ragbir, since UNC’s internal elections against the Star team, has never returned to the caucus room. He spends his time in the tea room. That’s not what his constituents appointed him for,” Lee added.
“I call on Ragbir: stop trying to mislead the population by saying there was no caucus; tell them the truth—that it’s you who’s stopped attending opposition caucuses! For four years, he’d have been the first to arrive in that room.
“It’s beyond reckless that after he betrayed his constituents and party by voting for the PNM, he came to blame the party by saying there was ‘no caucus, no research, and his views were not sought’—that’s a blatant lie!” Lee stated.
He said every MP is sent a reminder of parliamentary business. “At the end of every single sitting, I email each MP a copy of the upcoming bill and previous accompanying Hansard or bill essentials if there are any to assist their preparation with a notice stating that any MP wishing to contribute is asked to indicate.”
UNC deputy political leader Jearlean John added, “The House of the Rising Sun is for everybody—except when you vote against the UNC in Parliament … you’ll be sure your sins will find you! We ent taking dat!”