Dear Editor,
The swearing in of Khemraj Ramjattan as Vice President and Minister of Home Affairs is a sort of poetic justice for the former respected central committee member of the PPP. Mr Ramjattan was a committed and dedicated member of the PPP putting in years of yeoman service to help organize and build the party among the youths, especially during the darkest days of the dictatorship. But unfortunately, he was sidelined in the PPP hierarchy and subsequently expelled from the party without justifiable reason. He was laughed at, jeered at, and disrespected by his former colleagues. Out of the PPP, he is now a Vice President and a minister of government. Isn’t it poetic justice?
Mr Ramjattan was expelled from the PPP allegedly for interacting with the US Embassy about goings on in the party − what could be so secretive about the affairs of the party that warranted expulsion as a punishment for speaking about its internal matters? Almost everyone else spoke about the party’s internal affairs – there was hardly anything secret about its discussions and policies. What was not stated publicly or reported in the media was revealed privately in conversations. So there was hardly anything secret about the party’s affairs. Even if it had been the case that the allegation was true, expulsion was not warranted.
At the time of his expulsion, only a handful of individuals openly spoke out against it, namely, Lionel Peters (with whom Mr Ramjattan shared a very close relationship), Pandit Ramlall and myself; I wrote against it. Even Moses Nagamootoo did not openly speak out against the expulsion though in private conversations he told me that Mr Ramjattan got a raw deal. Ralph Ramkarran, as Speaker, could not openly voice an opinion against the decision to expel Mr Ramjattan. Neither Mr Nagamootoo nor Mr Ramkarran was pleased about the expulsion, but the party’s internal politics did not allow them to do anything about it. Pt Ramlall said at the time, (endorsed by myself), that he should never have been allowed to go, as we felt it would lead to a decline in support for the PPP.
The party made some inexplicable decisions. Few within the PPP spoke out against a perceived injustice and the party has paid dearly.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
