“IT is time to kick their…,” and the crowd enthusiastically responded,“Asses!” much to the delight of A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC)’s Prime Ministerial candidate,Moses Nagamootoo.The occasion was the alliance’s Unity Rally held in Linden last Friday evening. Delivering an address that pushed an agenda of ‘ass-kicking’, in obvious reference to former President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo’s fiery speech last Sunday at the Babu John memorial service for the Late Dr Cheddi Jagan, Nagamootoo, in a retaliatory manner, sought to indirectly urge the people of Linden to do likewise.

Among the things he said was that Jagdeo himself deserved to have his rear end kicked. “The people in this country deserve to kick his ass,” Nagamootoo said. And for what? For allegedly presiding over a series of ‘failed’ projects during his term in office.
One of the projects at reference, Nagamootoo said, was the proposed Specialty Hospital.
“They brought people here to build a Specialty Hospital, and Ramjattan told him the man is a scamp that they brought to build this hospital; Ramotar himself had to admit that the man was a fraudster,” Nagamootoo said, adding:
“But the thing is: The man got away with $900M of our money… “We should now kick his…” At which prompting the crowd promptly replied: “Ass.”

Just recently at its annual memorial gathering at the Babu John cremation site of the late Party Founders, Dr Cheddi Jagan and his wife, Janet, the former President in his address to the gathering turned to his successor, President Donald Ramotar and said, “Donald, you are a democratic man; sometimes we need to administer something else and kick some asses too.”
The remark was made in the context of Jagdeo stressing that the Opposition’s stance over the last three years has “stymied every plan that the Government has put forward” and as such, the current President should have “administer something else and kick some asses too”.

No sooner had he said so than the opposition immediately toook it out of context by using the phrase to gain political mileage through their speeches in the public domain in an attempt to stain the credibility of the former president.
However, after realizing that his statement was taken out of context, Jadgeo at a press conference held at Freedom House last week sought to clear the air by advising: “Whatever you have to do to change this country and to ensure a better life for our people, anything… The methods are justified,” adding that his ‘kick ass’ comment was

symbolic of the stance of tough attitude.
Further taking the political Opposition to task, Jagdeo said they lack solid policies and plans for the country and whatever plans that have been offered thus far are inconsistent.