Double standards in the House

OLD Kai is puzzled as to why Speaker of the National Assembly, the AFC’s Raphel Trotman, decided to impose a ban on Education Minister Priya Manickchand during the budget debates on Tuesday, April 1 because she refused to heed his order to apologise for allegedly heckling APNU MP, Jaipaul Sharma.Bear in mind that this is the very Speaker who, only the previous day, was encouraging members on the government side of the house to have a ‘thick skin’ after Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali demanded that AFC Chairman Moses Nagamootoo apologise to the people of Leguan for likening them to ‘grass cutters’.
It appears that the very Speaker does not have a ‘thick skin’ as I nearly fell off my chair when I read of the reason why he requested an apology from Manickchand. According to Internet news site, iNews, “the Speaker had asked the Minister to apologise after she heckled, ‘Ask the APNU member, Sharma’ while MP Volda Lawerence was addressing the issue of rape in the society…”
We are informed by the article that Trotman, in response, stated, “I deem it to be highly improper, and if you don’t apologise, I will not recognise you to participate in this debate.”
This has to be an April Fool’s joke! What was so improper about the Minister’s comment, especially when the very news site reported that Trotman was basically encouraging ‘heckling’, by telling Government MPs to have a ‘thick skin’. So, what about the Opposition? Should they also not be told by the Speaker to have a ‘thick skin’?
Old Kai should not be surprised by what appears to be double standard on the Speakers part. The Speaker now needs to explain to this nation what was so wrong with the comment by the PPP/C Member of Parliament to justify such an illogical decision of requesting an apology. If he does not, it will simply bring his position into further disrepute. Maybe the Speaker does have reason for justifying his action, but we have not seen any forthcoming in the press.
Let us not forget this is the very Speaker who has allowed the combined Opposition of his current and former political parties to cut successive National Budgets since they placed him there. The High Courts have now pronounced that these Budget cuts were unconstitutional; but, for his part, the Speaker has appealed the decision of which he is entitled to.
“Ask the APNU member, Sharma” is a very vague statement. Again, what is there to apologise for in such a statement? Some have speculated that Ms. Manickchand was making reference to Jaipaul’s father, C.N. Sharma, who has been charged with carnal knowledge, and that case is presently before the courts.
In May, 2013, Sharma was committed to stand trial in the High Court for having carnal knowledge of a seven-year-old girl between July 23, 2003 and July 23, 2004. Media reports had indicated that during the preliminary inquiry, investigators spoke with girls aged five, nine, 18 and 21, along with a cousin, aged 12.
The reports had also revealed that the victim, who was then 13, reported that she and her sisters were repeatedly raped by Sharma, who would give them $2000 per week after their sexual encounters. It was further alleged by the eldest sister that the television station owner and political leader of the Justice for All Party is the father of her child.
How can the Speaker establish that the Minister was making reference to this sad episode which is engaging the attention of our Courts? And even if she was, this is not a figment of anyone’s imagination!
Old Kai personally bears no resentment against the Speaker, but actions such as these simply makes the public question his ability to make sound judgments, especially given his prominent role in the State. He must at least try his best to appear impartial.
However, I support the Minister in her decision not to offer an apology, and as a result, the Speaker has found himself in a difficult position to justify his actions in banning Ms. Manickchand. It places him in a rather embarrassing position of having to admit that he may have acted out of a rush of adrenaline in seeking to protect his fellow Opposition colleague.
Old Kai cannot think of a plausible excuse right now, but I am confident that the Speaker can come up with a palatable one to quickly put this issue aside and allow the Honourable Minister and Member of Parliament to make her contribution during the debate, especially bearing in mind that her Ministry received the largest portion of the budgetary allocation once again this year.