–  Ramotar
PPP/C’s presidential candidate Mr. Donald Ramotar yesterday accused Mr. Moses Nagamootoo of doing very little, if anything at all, for the party over the last decade. Nagamootoo resigned from the PPP/C earlier this week,  after some four decades in that party, and has since joined the AFC where he has been offered a Vice Presidential position, should the AFC win the November 28 polls.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Ramotar said:  “Moses has done nothing for us in the last decade or so. It’s not like he’s been working hard.”
And when asked if the support base of the PPP/C will be affected by Nagamootoo’s resignation,  and current allegiance with the AFC, Ramotar was adamant that Nagamootoo’s absence from the PPP will have no effect on the support base on the incumbent party.
Ramotar also maintained that he has every confidence in the collective intelligence of the Guyanese people noting that, come November 28, “they will choose right.”
Nagamootoo, speaking to the media yesterday, said he did not join the AFC to “shake any base” but rather to “spread enlightenment”.
The ex-PPP/C member said he has “no grudge” against the membership of his former party, but the membership  must be conscious that they have been duped and betrayed.
“My quarrel is not with the membership of  the PPP/C; my quarrel is with a leadership that has gone astray,” Nagamootoo said.
According to him, the current administration has brought Guyana to a “state of disgrace” where people are fearful and marginalized.
“There would be no recourse for my radical action, were it not for the failures of some of my colleagues to arrest a situation that has led to national shame,” Nagamootoo declared.
However, the consensus among members of the PPP/C is that the reality, one that the vast majority of Guyanese can attest to, is far from Nagamootoo’s depiction of the status quo.

STOLEN SPOT
Nagamootoo also expressed the view yesterday that the PPP/C’s presidential candidacy spot was ‘stolen’ from him  in a process that did not include the PPP/C membership – a membership that had supported his nomination as presidential candidate.
“This has to do with a process that has been rigged to manufacture a presidential candidate and he (Ramotar) is spawned from that rigged process,” Nagamootoo contended.
However, President Bharrat Jagdeo has reiterated that the selection process of Mr. Ramotar – whom he believes is the best person to lead Guyana after he demits office, was a democratic one and lashed out at what he described as Nagamootoo’s lack of commitment to the PPP, as well as his track record of lying.
“He always wanted to be President or Vice President…first he lied about Cheddi Jagan when he said Dr. Jagan selected him to be the next president…he lied again when he said Janet and I promised him the Vice Presidency. He lied and Janet Jagan exposed him,” the President said.
Jagdeo observed that Nagamootoo is displeased that he did not receive the “top job” hence his decision to jump ship.
“You can see clearly what his ambitions are…he has gone to the AFC and they have induced him by offering him the Vice Presidency,” President Jagdeo told the large gathering of PPP/C supporters.
Nagamootoo also claimed that he was the one who, years ago, nominated Ramotar to be General Secretary of the PPP/C.
“I was the one who nominated Donald for the position of General Secretary. I thought he was the least ambitious and that being General Secretary would not rock the boat after Comrade Cheddi died,” Nagamootoo said.
Jagdeo said, “Now we are seeing his (Nagamootoo) true colours…today we are seeing his true nature.”

LOYALTY
Commenting on Nagamootoo’s defection to the AFC, President Bharrat Jagdeo made it clear that one cannot support the ideals of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan and ‘jump ship’.
“He is worried about us being corrupt, but a couple of months ago he was campaigning to head this corrupt party,” Mr. Jagdeo contended.
The Guyanese Head of State maintained that the PPP/C’s leadership team going into the 2011 elections is the best possible one and, with the support of the Guyanese people who are living the results of promises fulfilled, the PPP/C is foreseeing a resounding victory at the upcoming polls.
President Jagdeo also maintained that presidential candidate, Ramotar,  is a leader who will take Guyana forward, someone who has a bright vision for the future and is advocating a better life for all Guyanese.
“Every day we need to be stronger than the day before,” he told hundreds of supporters gathered outside the PPP’s Freedom House headquarters on Robb Street,  Georgetown  at a mini-rally following the submission of the List of Candidates to the Chief Elections Officer, where he stressed the need to build momentum as E-Day draws near.