Roodal seemed to be happy for the company as he was quite lonely.
Even though he sat next to Nizam Baksh (who is serving his last
days in politics) there was one single empty chair that separated
him from the dissidents, which at the time consisted of Gerald Yetming,
Gillian Lucky and Fuad Khan.
But, as this column reported previously, even while he seemed to
be happy to have Singh for company, Roodal seemed to be getting
horrors each time that a camera was pointed in their direction.
Therefore, we easily concluded that he was playing both sides.
In fact, I recall one occasion when Kelvin Ramnath led a walkout
on the first day that Kamla appeared as Opposition Leader, Roodal
seemed to be on his own agenda.
He had come to the House prepared to speak on a motion dealing with
Vernon Paul’s allegations that members of the ruling People’s
National Movement (PNM) were responsible for planting cocaine and
missiles in the water tank at the home of Sadiq Baksh.
A few minutes after Ramnath, Kamla and the front benches walked
out, Roodal remained sitting with a sulky expression on his face.
It was only when Leader of the House, Ken Valley teased him “Roodal,
you have to go, too,” that he reluctantly picked up his papers
and joined his colleagues in the committee room where they were
hosting a news conference.
He did not miss a note, however; Roodal blended in with his colleagues
almost as if he knew that walking out was the right thing to do.
Nevertheless, after that, the people who occupied the back bench
and who are by far the smartest and brightest in the Opposition,
seem to have their own synergy.
The front looked scrappy, really.
When it comes to the numbers game, that is where the thing gets
really right.
With Bas out of the picture, Kamla has the support of eight MPs,
while Dookeran is being supported by five.
A breakdown of the statistics shows a 9-6 majority for Kamla.
Therefore you can imagine why she would want to ensure that Moonilal
and Nizam Baksh are put on a leash … at least until the next
elections.
The UNC obviously moved to consolidate its numbers in the Lower
House, just in the event Roodal would have been wooed by more intelligent
company.
There were a few empty seats in the front row of the Opposition
benches which remained empty because the UNC so badly wanted to
relegate the renegades to the back.
As a result, the configuration has changed again.
This time around all full fledged supporters of the Opposition Leader
are on the front bench.
Kelvin Ramnath is now just one seat away from his boss lady, having
been moved up the ranks to accommodate Nizam Baksh and Roodal Moonilal
on the front bench.
There’s an empty seat between Kelvin and Kamla that is reserved
for the MP for Couva North -- whichever Panday that may eventually
be.
The situation is such that if Roodal wants to talk with Ganga Singh
now, he will have to either send a note or take a walk to the opposite
end of where he’s sitting to chat with his pal.
Other than that he will just have to humble himself and wait until
the tea break!
The division on the Opposition benches is now official as the battle
for the reins of power in the UNC heats up, with no sign of abating!
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