UWI political scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath has apologised to the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) for comments he made in a newspaper article in response to boasts by UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar that she has "purged" the UNC.
At the presentation of the UNC Coalition of Interests's 39 candidates at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya on April 5, UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said, "I have purged the politics of caste, class, nepotism, family connections, segregation, discrimination and dynasty from the UNC."
In a letter to SDMS general secretary Vijay Maharaj on April 8, Ragoonath apologised to Maharaj for the statement he made in the newspaper article which "gives the impression that the SDMS which represents the majority of Sanatanist Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago, was 'purged' by the UNC.
He recalled being asked by a daily newspaper to comment about Persad-Bissessar's "purged" remarks on April 5.
Ragoonath said his response was based on a belief that Persad-Bissessar was suggesting groups like the SDMS would no longer have an influence on the UNC and SDMS first assistant general secretary Dinesh Rambally who was elected UNC Chaguanas West MP in 2020.
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He added his comment was also based on Rambally not being selected as a UNC candidate for the April 28 general election.
Rambally was one of five former UNC MPs who publicly questioned Persad-Bissessar's ability to lead the party to victory on April 28. The others were Rushton Paray, Anita Haynes-Alleyne, Dr Rai Ragbir and Rodney Charles.
Ragoonath acknowledged the SDMS had in fact been distancing itself from the UNC since 2023 when it banned a UNC MP from appearing on its Jaagriti radio and television stations.
He said Rambally's decision to resign from the UNC, long before Persad-Bissessar's comments on April 5, was the final step in the SDMS distancing itself from the UNC and not the other way around.
Ragoonath added against this background any suggestion the UNC "purged" itself of the SDMS was wrong.
In a statement on April 10, Maharaj said, "The resignation was merely the final step in a broader and already well-understood separation between the SDMS and the UNC."
He advised people, including political analysts, who did not understand the SDMS's role in society not to engage in conjecture.
Maharaj repeated, "The SDMS is neither a political vehicle nor a political party group of any purported political entity."
He said any interpretation of the SDMS in such a manner is disrespectful to the thousands of people its serves in the spheres of religion, education and culture.
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At a public meeting at the Macaulay Community Centre on April 10, Patriotic Front (PF) political leader Mickela Panday condemned Persad-Bissessar's "purged" comments.
Panday said, "When she purged the party, she purged its history."
Panday's father, the late former prime minister Basdeo Panday, founded the UNC on April 30,1989.
Persad-Bissessar served in the Panday administration from 1995-2001 as attorney general, legal affairs minister and education minister.
