By Jomo Paul
[www.inewsguyana.com] – General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Clement Rohee says the recent views expressed by Former President Dr Bharat Jagdeo do not necessarily reflect those of the Party.
Jagdeo recently compared his lifestyle to that of PPP founder Dr Cheddi Jagan saying that government ministers should not dwell in a “logie” to prove that they aren’t corrupt while pointing out that Jagan lived in mansion.
But Rohee at a news conference on Monday, March 23 noted that while the Party is not distancing itself from Jagdeo’s views, the Former President is entitled to his own personal view.
“Jagdeo expressed his views as he saw it on the matters to which he spoke. Those views, it must be recalled, were not expressed by the General Secretary of the Party. It is grossly unfair, unprofessional and unbalanced to attribute Mr Jagdeo statements to what the Party stands for,” said Rohee.
He said that such statements usually stir debate and it is best left up to the leadership of the PPP to make a definitive statement on the matter.
“When a member of the PPP expresses a viewpoint….and it is found by the newly found Jagan lovers as against what Dr Jagan stood for, we have to be suspicious. It is best left to the leadership of the PPP to pronounce authoritatively on such matters,” he noted.
The General Secretary made it clear that Jagdeo’s statements are healthy since it has managed to stir spirited public debate, noting that some persons are not even discombobulated as a result of what the Former President said.
According to Rohee, the PPP has not diverted from the core values and principle of its founder noting that Jagdeo did not attack anything that Dr Jagan stood for.
“What did he criticise? He countered the political opposition and sections of the media for attacking him for using his personally accumulated wealth to build something to his liking. By doing that, does it mean going against something that Dr Jagan stood for?….Born again democrats who seek to create the impression that the PPP has departed form the core values and principle of its founder – Dr Cheddi Jagan; nothing could be further from the truth,” the General Secretary claimed.