Port-of-Spain, Dec 13(IANS) The former Indian-origin prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Basdeo Panday has threatened civil disobedience against the present government if it fails to improve the socio-economic life of the people.
Panday, who is now leader of the opposition in Trinidad and Tobago’s House of Representatives, told his supporters at a meeting Tuesday that it is one tool his party, the United National Congress-Alliance (UNC), would adopt to force the government to act swiftly and tackle the problems faced by the people.
Panday, who is facing charges of corruption during his tenure as the prime minister between 1995- 2001, said: “We will protest, take out marches, demonstrations, boycotts, non-cooperation with the government, and of course, civil disobedience.”
He said he expects the social, economic, political and infrastructural problems to continue unabated with no sign of relief or help.
“To solve these problems, we will intervene,” Panday declared, adding that his party will file complaints to the relevant authorities to resolve the issues.
“We will operate as a team and will have no division in our ranks as we move to get the government to properly represent all the people of T&T, regardless of who they voted for,” the former trade unionist said.
He said the people were frustrated and the outcome of last month’s general elections, in which his party captured 15 out of the 41 seats, did nothing to satisfy the people.
The ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) led by Prime Minister Patrick Manning captured 26 seats, while the 14-month-old Congress of the People failed to win a single seat, although it got over 148,000 votes.
Panday came into national politics in 1976 following his entry into the sugar belt, which is mainly supported by the large ethnic Indian community.
Except for a six-year stint as prime minister, he has always been an opposition leader. The country’s 9th parliament gets into session Dec 17 after a three- month break following dissolution for elections.