St Augustine Member of Parliament Prakash Ramadhar says he is ready to do legal battle with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon over his “descent into dictatorship by the use of state resources to intimidate law abiding citizens,” by ordering an investigation into the protest at the Couva Hospital last Friday. Ramadhar said he is well prepared to attend, “at any place at any time to be interviewed in connection with this investigation.”
Dillon has blamed the protest led by Ramadhar for the massive traffic jam which he said affected not just southerners making their way home, but also persons who were heading to the Brian Lara Cricket Academy for the opening ceremony.
Ramadhar advised Dillon to seek legal advice because “the Ministry of National Security has no power in law, statutory or otherwise, to conduct investigations of the genre which you have stated. It seems that as the Minister of National Security you are either unaware or ill-advised as to your role and/or powers and I call upon you to take legal advice in this regard.”
Citing the country’s growing crime problem which has citizens living in fear, Ramadhar said, “It is deeply disconcerting that you would take a decision to deploy any investigatory resources towards a matter where citizens of this country decide to demonstrate their opposition to a clearly ill-conceived policy and use of public funds.”
He said the decision to investigate “is nothing more than an attempt to use the resources of the state to intimidate citizens of this country who have the courage to voice their dissatisfaction with your abysmal government policies.”
Ramadhar said, “given your descent into dictatorship by the use of State resources to intimidate law-abiding citizens, I wish to inform you that I was present during the alleged protest action and I now stand ready and willing to attend any purported investigation being conducted by your offices, in the company of my lawyers.
