Dr Vindhya Persaud PPP/C
Politics is not new to Vindhya Persaud since she grew up in politics, and as a result when she campaigned for the PPP/C in the run-up to the last elections it felt like the natural route for her life to take.
“It was something everyone expected me to do I would say, having come from that kind of a background; much earlier… I was more focused on study and work,” Persaud told the Sunday Stabroek in a recent interview.
Of her six siblings, however, she is the only one who has taken up the mantle of a politician.
And maybe this is owing to the fact that as a child Persaud, a medical doctor by profession who has worked in surgery and emergency medicine since she graduated, made many trips to Parliament Building in the company of her father, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud. Her father, she said, has the distinction of having been one of the longest serving parliamentarians in the country, as was been a member of the National Assembly for 40 years. When her father babysat her, most times she would end up at Freedom House in the company of the late President Cheddi Jagan or else in Parliament.
While she is aware of the many connotations attached to politics, Dr Persaud is a woman on a mission and it is not a mission she has taken up today but one she has followed for a number of years in her profession and in her work with young people and vulnerable members of the population through the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha.
So on Thursday when she entered the National Assembly as one of the new parliamentarians for the PPP/C she was continuing that mission, and she hopes that her work in parliament will help to further some of the issues she has already begun as she sees the need to do more.
Sitting down with the Sunday Stabroek, Dr Persaud expressed the hope that with the new dispensation in parliament – the ruling party being the minority in the house – all the parliamentarians will come together and work towards the good of the country.
“However, my decision was really based on a need to do more… I want to contribute on a large scale to Guyanese and I feel by entering the political arena and speaking out on certain issues – and now I am entering [as a] parliamentarian – I would be able to do that on a larger scale,” she explained.
She pointed out that she has been vocal on many social and health issues and has been working with women and children – something she started doing at a very early age. But it is the desire for her work to have a national impact and to have the opportunity to work with people from all political backgrounds that helped propel her in the direction of politics.
She is aware of the downside of politics, she said, as persons would say that it is “dirty and it is not something one should get into.”
Politics is not dirty for everyone, the doctor went on to say, since she watched her father conduct himself with integrity.
“He has a very good working relationship with members of the opposition,” she said, adding that during his tenure her father was trusted by the PPP and Dr Jagan when “it meant to sorting out delicate matters with the opposition.“
From her father she has learnt that one must always conduct oneself in a disciplined manner and carry oneself with integrity. In addition, one should listen to people, come to compromises and work for the benefit of the people.
“So I would like to say having seen that he was able to straddle the world of religion and politics and do so very well, that also contributed in a big way for me wanting to do this.”
She had the support of her father when she decided to make the move following the approach of the PPP/C’s then presidential candidate and now President Donald Ramotar. She has always supported the party but she was asked by Ramotar to be in the forefront of the campaign. She described the campaign trail as a learning and humbling experience for her.
The new parliamentarian has areas she would want to focus on, but she is not sure what areas would be assigned to her. Her interest lies with women, children and young people, and because she has a background in health this is another area of interest.
“I know you would find this weird but I also have an interest in broadcast legislation because I think it is very important,” Persaud told this newspaper.
Questioned further she said there is need to look at what is being put out for public consumption, look at the freedoms which are there and how they are utilized, in addition to which she would also like to see some opening of the television and radio station where people could share more in a responsible manner.
“Also there are a number of recording artistes that have no real protection in terms of copyright laws, so that is another area I would like to be involved in.”
While for the most part everyone was supportive of her move, Dr Persaud said some of her friends and colleagues were concerned for her and told her that people would say and write things about her.
“I said to them, you know I am a pretty open book, I am pretty boring so if people have to write anything negative they will have to make it up…” Dr Persaud said with a small laugh.
‘Put Guyana first’
In a clarion call to the opposition, Dr Persuad urged all in the National Assembly to put Guyana first and not “get bogged down by petty differences.”
“Don’t look at what you can get and what you can grasp, rather let us work together.”
She described the new dispensation in parliament as a “different and unique situation” and one which parliamentarians must approach in a mature way looking not for what is best for their party or themselves but for the people of Guyana.
“If we can forget the campaign trail and realize, okay that is behind us, this is where we are, let us work together; don’t try to frustrate processes to show that the government can’t do this or that and we are better. At the end of the day it is the country and its people and whether we are in opposition or the government that is what is what we should focus on.”
She said that on either side of the table there are intelligent and rational people and they can do it since they have done it in the past.
She said if people go into parliament and sit on the various committees with the attitude of frustrating the process rather than achieving anything, then nothing will be achieved.
“But if you really are concerned with people, their future and best interest, meaning Guyanese people wherever they come from or what their political persuasion is, then we can work together.“
Dr Persaud said that Guyana is a country which has dug itself out of a lot of things in the past and today there are more opportunities, but she agrees that there is still much more to be done.
“But internationally we are poised for a great future because of what has been done, and it is up to us in the parliament taking into consideration all the parties, if we want to build on it or take ourselves back by continuing to wrangle.”
Dr Persaud worked at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) but has since had to resign because of her political work, and will now open her private practice on Camp Street. She is not married and has no children.
