THE EDITOR: Member of Parliament Dinesh Rambally was unknown before he became a Member of Parliament for the United National Congress, and in 2025 when he is not selected as an MP he will return to his familiar abode of anonymity.

Gifted a safe seat thanks to the urging of the Maha Sabha, this unknown lawyer within the ranks of the UNC has been nondescript in his contributions in Parliament and his representation as an MP. Swansong MP Rambally has joined the many who have gone before with similar statements concerning the leadership of Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

When Rambally was selected in 2015 as an MP he had no issue with Anil Roberts being selected as a senator, or with Ravi Ratiram an MP, or the litany of unsuitable people selected by Persad-Bissessar to national positions. Hiding behind the principle of collective responsibility, Rambally was silent but thankfully now he has seen the light of day and spoken out, adding his voice to the same sentiment made in the past by Ganga Singh, Fuad Khan, Ramona Ramdial, Jack Warner and myself.

Rambally, however, is correct on every count in his analysis of the chances of the UNC winning the next general election under the stewardship of Persad-Bissessar. The issue of the party's image, erosion of institutions of the party, trampling of the UNC’s constitution, trivialising major national issues, failure to present real alternative solutions to crime, etc raised by Rambally are some of the deficiencies the UNC faces.

Persad-Bissessar, unlike any other UNC leader or its previous incarnations (ULF/DLP), has granular control over every aspect of the UNC, from the party group executive to the MP's office staff. This level of control means the deck is stacked against any form of real democracy or representation within the UNC, or even the opportunity to have a forum for discussion of divergent ideas.

It can be predicted that, like all others who have made challenges to the Persad-Bissessar-led UNC, Rambally will be ignored and attacked as a PNM operative and be blamed along with others like Rushton Paray for the UNC losing the next general election.

The weaponising of gender will continue as yet another male attacks the leadership decision of a female leader, and the rewarding of blind incompetent loyalists will be manifested in the selection of UNC candidates for the next general election.

The sham that is the institution of the UNC is epitomised by the failure of the political leader to file her nomination papers at the party headquarters following a media release that attempted to make an insignificant event into another opportunity to praise the leader.

Rambally's awakening serves as a warning: the faithful must liberate themselves from the cult of personality that enslaves them to Persad-Bissessar's whims. The UNC's downfall is imminent with the continued leadership of Persad-Bissessar.

DR DEVANT MAHARAJ

former UNC cabinet  member (2010-2015)

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