Dear Editor

THE Guyana Times carried a noteworthy Editorial (19/11/16) in which the newspaper called on Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo “to deal with Dharamlall” and to send a clear signal to party supporters that his behaviour is unacceptable.

The editorial was in response to the public outcry against Dharamlall’s nasty Facebook attacks on the President. Dharamlall is a PPP Member of Parliament and a former Permanent Secretary and REO. He sits on the Central Committee of the party. When he writes on Facebook, he does so under the weight of being both a party leader and an MP.

As a former member of the PPP, I am horrified by what Dharamlall has written, and I feel uneasy by what his supporters have said in defense of his hate language and that they are promising to watch his back.

Dharamlall has many skeletons in his cupboard, all of which are known to the PPP leadership; yet no tangible action has been taken against him for breach of the party’s Code of Conduct for behaviour that would discredit and hurt the image of the PPP. The incident in which he discharged his firearm at an official of the IDB is but only one such outrageous act for which he ought to have been suspended or expelled from the PPP, and recalled from Parliament.

It is true that Mr. Jagdeo has criticized him on this occasion, but that is not enough. His attacks on the Speaker of the National Assembly remain condoned by the PPP leadership. Dharamlall had insulted the Speaker when he posted that Dr. Scotland would go down in history as “the most disgusting speaker” of all time.

Mr. Jagdeo is the effective leader of the PPP. He should have seen it fit then to clip the wings of Dharamlall. “Dharam” means righteousness, but nothing is righteous about the conduct of this party activist in and out of parliament.

Mr. Jagdeo is fond of attacking Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who has been a PPP leader for several decades. But he should take a leaf from the book of this goodly gentleman, who when faced with the unruly behaviour of one of his regional representatives, fired him summarily.

Another employee who was involved in an altercation with an activist of another party during the local government elections was also fired.

I wish to commend the Guyana Times for its forthright position, and looks forward to action being taken against the runaway MP.

Yours sincerely,
KUMAR J. PERSAUD
Ex-PPP member