Prakash Ramadhar yesterday admitted that if it was the will of his constituents to resign as MP for St Augustine, he would do so.
Ramadhar made it clear that he had no craving for political office.
He said there were people in the UNC who never supported him and wanted him out of the Opposition in order to dominate the politics to an unhealthy level.
Ramadhar was commenting on several posts plastered on the UNC and St Augustine Constituency Facebook walls, calling for him to resign as MP, hours after he returned to Trinidad after a five-day trip to Jamaica, which he attended with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to rekindle a strained relationship between both countries.
Several posts described Ramadhar as a “traitor” and being disrespectful to Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for going with the PNM delegation.
They also reminded Ramadhar that if it was not for the UNC he would have never won the seat on a COP ticket.
In a telephone interview, Ramadhar said: “I am not moved by the views of one or two people. I have been here before in terms of the attacks from some members over the years while in government.
“For those who believe this was a betrayal in any form or fashion they do not understand who I am before and while in politics.”
Told that some people had called for on-line petition for him to resign as MP, Ramadhar said he welcomed the effort.
“And if it is the will of the majority of people of St Augustine, of course, I have no craving to hold political office. All I have done is to continue to work towards improving Trinidad and Tobago.
“There are those within the Opposition forces who have never supported me... who would wish to see me depart so they would have dominance to direct the future of the politics to a very unhealthy level.
He asked: “What does that prove? I don’t care to be drawn in by critics. I care to be drawn in by the future that is successful. Ask those persons what have they done to contribute to a legitimate and credible force to sustain us in government against all of the odds I stood almost singularly for the Partnership?”
He said those who wanted him to step down as MP should face him directly.
“My future is not determined by the will of others. It is determine by conscience, actions and guidance from God,” he added.
Ramadhar said he had faced many challenges in the past and was unafraid of what was before him.
The MP said people reacted in different ways, out of misinformation, others were dominated by fear while many were manipulated by mischief.
“If there are those who wish to divide, carry on, and let the PNM succeed,” he added.
Ramadhar said he held the PP together when many said the COP should stand on its own.
Having won the UNC stronghold seat on a COP ticket in 2015, Ramadhar said for months, he had been taking a beating from many quarters but has always put country first.
“I am sure the UNC alone could win St Augustine but we do know that the UNC’s support alone, as much as we cherish it, will not win government.”
Ramadhar said if we were to allow some voices to take dominance “then they are doing the very thing that they claim they do not want. That is a continued PNM victory.”
While he would embrace healthy debate on the matter, Ramadhar said the current issue was unhealthy.
Instead the PNM and UNC bridge differences, Ramadhar said walls were being built around both parties which was not doing the country any good.
Two weeks ago, Persad-Bissessar had knocked Ramadhar for accepting the Jamaica invitation, saying an Opposition parliamentarian could not represent the Opposition bench without holding consultation with her.
In an interview on CNC3 Morning Brew yesterday, Ramadhar, in response to the Opposition Leader’s claims, said he did in fact communicated with Persad-Bissessar, via text message, a phone call and voice message, informing her about the trip which she did not acknowledge.
Ramadhar admitted he was surprised by Persad-Bissessar’s lack of response.
“I was taken aback by it. This is the politics of the day. So whatever the reasons are, it is much ado about very little. People were making a mountain out of a molehill. Rest assured, I would have made every effort to have spoken with her at the relevant time,” he said.
Before leaving, Ramadhar said he consulted with COP’s leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir.
Ramadhar said he participated in several discussions in Jamaica, among them was the Caribbean Court of Justice.
He, however, agreed that Rowley should have first consulted with Persad-Bissessar before inviting him.
“We have seen many breaches while we were in government within the (People’s) Partnership but we never allowed that to create any fracture,” he said.
Since his return on Thursday, Ramadhar said he had not spoken to Persad-Bissessar who had made no attempt to reach him either.
He denied there was bad blood between the Opposition Leader and himself, stating they have been through quite a lot over the years.
“When many thought that things were going to crash and burn in 2011 we worked it through,” he added.
He said he was willing to give Opposition Whip Ganga Singh an update about the trip.
“Once they ask I will tell them and there are those who will fuel this thing as if there was some great divide. It ought not to be,” he said.
Ramadhar insisted he had great respect and admiration for Persad-Bissessar.
“But I could tell you that there are those within the UNC who do not want to see any future partnership. They prefer to hold on to something that would not take us back into government,” he said.
Told that Persad-Bissessar viewed the trip as a disrespect to her, Ramadhar said if that was the way she felt, he felt sorry.
“I would always consider her as a friend and ally,” he said.
He asked what was the difference between his trip and Persad-Bissessar, who had invited Rowley in 2013 to the funeral of former South African president Nelson Mandela.
Asked if the trip was a PNM sweetener for him, Ramadhar replied: “For those who know me, I cannot be bought or be sold by any sweetener or otherwise.”
What is his position in the Opposition?
Ramadhar said he would continue to work with the Opposition the same way he had always stood firm with them.
“I paid a heavy price within my party. My party has paid a very heavy price, as the UNC. We have lost government,” he added.
He said the relationship between the COP and UNC would end “only if those who wish to see a division allow it to succeed.”
Questioned when Parliament re-opens in September if he would sit as an Independent on the UNC bench, Ramadhar said:
“There will be need to have discussions between the parties as how we proceed because things were going very well. Nobody would assume for a moment that the independence of the COP would be given up now in Opposition. That could never have occurred.”
Since losing at the polls last September, Ramadhar said no new arrangement between COP and UNC was hammered out.
“There has been no further effort since then to engage on how we proceed. Maybe the time is now,” he added.
Persad-Bissessar did not respond to a text message about Ramadhar’s claims.