“They don’t want it to appear that they are supporting
Kamla (Opposition Leader) in her battle with Dookeran over leadership
of the party,” a source said.
Among those who reportedly blanked the UNC for a senatorial post
is Maha Sabha Secretary General Sat Maharaj, who sources say want
to distance himself from the UNC because he has openly boasted that
his religious organisation has benefited more financially under
the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) government than
under the Basdeo Panday UNC administration.
Minister of Education Hazel Manning has been pumping money into
the Maha Sabha schools while Culture Minister Joan Yuille-Williams
has been donating thousands of dollars to the Hindu organisation
for its various cultural events like Pagwah and Indian Arrival Day.
“If Sat had gone and sit as a UNC senator, the government
would have blanked him from getting handouts,” one UNC source
said.
Another source said Maharaj would not be inclined to reveal his
assets because of his ongoing legal battle with the late Bhadase
Sagan Maraj’s surviving children over his estate.
A UNC activists said the party suspects that Maharaj is backing
UNC Political Leader Winston Dookeran and he would not want it to
appear that he is playing “both sides” by taking up
an offer from Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
“Sat has been saying the UNC can’t get back into power,
so he’s holding on to the PNM,” the source said.
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