WHATEVER else can be said of former President Dr Cheddi Jagan he was essentially a democrat and a patriot.

This was quite unlike Forbes Burnham, who rigged his way to power for over two decades until democracy was finally restored on October 5, 1992.

I follow with interest attempts by the PNC, including some who were integrally involved in the rigging of national and regional elections, to create what can only be described as “a storm in a teacup” over a billboard depicting Dr Jagan as the “Father” of the Nation. Such attempts are both feeble and infantile and certainly will not gain traction.

Dr Jagan has become a national monument, someone who has transcended the boundaries of national politics. He was one of the main architects of the national independence struggle and the building of a modern Guyana.

His honesty, integrity and high political morality has now become legendary. Such attributes are widely acknowledged by Guyanese all across the political and ethnic spectrum of the Guyanese society.

It is unfortunate that the PNC has chosen to use his 105th birth anniversary to seek to denigrate Dr Jagan and his contributions to the politics of Guyana. It is not without significance that such attempts are being made on the eve of Local Government Elections which the PPP/C is expected to win by a landslide.

It is time for the PNC to come clean with the Guyanese people and admit to the injustices inflicted on Dr Jagan and the Guyanese people as a whole during its 28 years of dictatorial rule. During that period, Guyana was reduced to ‘pariah’ status.

It is more than ironic that some of those who were responsible for destruction of the democratic fabric of the country are now seeking to “lecture” us on the virtues of morality.
Dr Jagan’s multifaceted contributions to the growth and development of Guyana cannot be downplayed and will forever be etched in the consciousness of the Guyanese people.

Yours respectfully,
Hydar Ally