APNU shuts Priya down in Parliament

APNU shuts Priya down in Parliament

The APNU Members of Parliament used loud noise and banging on their desks to shut down Minister of Education Priya Manickchand when she attempted to make her budget presentation on Friday night in the National Assembly.

Manickchand has refused to apologise for a remark she directed at APNU Member Jaipaul Sharma during the budget debates about asking him about statutory rape.

Mr. Sharma has since tendered his resignation from the National Assembly. The Speaker who at first banned Manickchand from making contributions during the budget debate backpedaled on that position one day later, saying that having reviewed the recording and taking into account Manickchand’s later statement that she did not mean to offend anyone, he had decided to let her speak.

The Opposition APNU would have none of it and maintained their position that she needed to apologise for the remark. On Friday night, as she rose to make her presentation, the loud banging on the desks started with calls for an apology. At one stage, Members of the Government side stood to show their support for Manickchand. That did not stop the banging of desks and the calls for the apology. Government Members of Parliament stand in solidarity with Priya Manickchand

The Speaker attempted several times to bring order to the house and even initiated a meeting with the chief whips of the two parties. His efforts failed and the APNU members kept banging their desks and shouting that Manickchand needed to apologise. Speaker Raphael Trotman was forced to adjourn the sitting until next Monday.

The Speaker has come under criticism for his decision to allow Manickchand to speak without the apology being issued to Jaipaul Sharma. He had stated that the remark may have been directed to Jaipaul Sharma’s father and even the former MP may have thought so. But APNU Members point to a similar situation last year when one of its members Vanessa Kissoon made a similar remark as the Works Minister was speaking.

The Speaker called on Kissoon to apologise and she did so immediately. He then warned Members of Parliament about heckling remarks about the relatives of  Members.

The Education Minister has attempted to defend her remarks on her Facebook page, pointing to the allegations of rape levelled against CN Sharma who is the father of Jaipaul Sharma. But many observers have pointed out that while she finds a convenient voice when it comes to Sharma, her voice is usually  lost when similar accusations are made against persons in her own party.

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