Senior Reporter
rhondor.dowlat@guardian.co.tt
Opposition Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial criticised Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for what is being considered as divisive statements with a racial undertone while speaking at a political meeting in St James on Thursday.
At the meeting, Rowley took aim at the political leader of the National Transformation Alliance, Gary Griffith, and called on the people to reject the former police commissioner whose party has partnered with the UNC to contest the upcoming Local Government Elections.
Rowley also claimed that Griffith’s increased granting of Firearm User’s Licenses (FUL) (when he was commissioner) and the UNC’s proposed stand your ground legislation was a recipe for racial violence.
Speaking on Sunday during the weekly media briefing at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Port-of-Spain, Lutchmdial said, “I want to call upon every Member of Parliament, regardless of whatever bench you sit on, to reject those types of statements that are being made that can divide this country at a time like this, every time we enter an election season there is an attempt to divide this country along racial lines and we will not fall for it, it must stop, we are all suffering from the incompetence of the PNM.”
Lutchmedial also advocated for a review of all employment policies barring or limiting workers’ involvement with politics.
It follows the challenges faced by UNC candidate Lyndon De Gannes from his employer, the Central Bank, in his effort to contest the elections.
De Gannes, a chauffeur with the Central Bank, has since obtained a High Court injunction blocking the bank’s mandate to remove his candidacy.