FORMER Junior Public Infrastructure Minister, Jaipaul Sharma has apologised to Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall for his erroneous and allegedly libelous comments on his Facebook page.

Sharma, on Friday arrived at the decision following a caucus with his family, in which he was outvoted by a vast majority.
“I had to agree with them, since I was outnumbered, and since I believe in democracy,” Sharma stated on his Facebook page, adding:
“My family all say that they are concerned for my safety, and they do not want a ‘Die Hard Christmas’ but a Merry Christmas. I therefore issue an apology to the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir A. Nandlall.”

Not yet done with the matter, Sharma said: “In addition, I will close my Facebook account after five days of this post, during which period I will not make any further post about the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir A. Nandlall, if he discontinues with his legal action against me.”

Nandlall recently sued People National Congress Reform (PNC/R) member, James Bond and Sharma, individually, for damages in excess of $25M for each of the alleged libelous statements they are accused of having made; in excess of $25M each for special damages, and in excess of $25M each for aggravated damages.

Bond referred to Nandlall by certain derogatory remarks, and said he knows for a fact that clients gave the law firm millions of US dollars to facilitate the purchase of land and equipment.
The Attorney-General said that the publications have the potential to sully his reputation, standing and integrity, especially given Facebook’s reach.
Nandlall is also seeking court costs, and any other order the court may deem just to grant.

Nandlall’s lawyers had written to Sharma, informing him that his Facebook post was not only libelous, but malicious and completely false, and is causing damage to the standing, integrity, and reputation of the law firm, and to Nandlall’s reputation.

The Attorney-General had demanded that Sharma retract the offensive publication, and issue an apology immediately to him and the law firm.
He had further informed Sharma that he reserves the right to institute legal proceedings against him; however, the apology may mitigate the quantum of compensation the firm is seeking.
Sharma originally started politics with his father’s party, Justice For All Party (JFAP), but later switched to the People’s National Congress (PNC) months before the March 2020 elections.
The switch, Sharma had also stated on his Facebook page was as a result of an auspicious dream he had about former President David Granger being his father. Sharma related that in his dream, he recalled calling out to the former President, “Jai! Jai! Jai!” Jai is a Hindi word which, when translated into English, means victory.