Tabaquite MP accuses Padarath of bullying, calls him a hypocrite

Accusations of bullying have resurfaced in Parliament, with a member of the Opposition boldly claiming that a colleague has utilised the Budget debate to do just that.

Tabaquite MP Anita Haynes-Alleyne, labelled one of five dissidents by the United National Congress (UNC), yesterday expressed her dismay over contradictory comments made by Princes Town MP Barry Padarath on Monday.

While contributing to the Budget debate, Padarath referred to the death of student Jayden Lalchan, who ended his life on October 3 after allegedly being bullied at school. It was then he said he had also been a victim of bullying in the House of Representatives.

According to Haynes-Alleyne, Padarath’s actions were hypocritical, as he championed Jayden’s cause while simultaneously engaging in behaviour that contributed to the very issues leading to the boy’s tragic death.

“This has been a very unique debate for me because, outside of the regular picong, we have also faced some picong from our own side, and that has been very unique,” she said.

She added, “I sat here and listened as a colleague began a contribution talking about A-teams and B-teams, and ended a contribution talking about a very serious, very important national issue on bullying. That same colleague spent a lot of time this year talking about who was ‘nobody’, ‘neemakharam’, etcetera. So, from the beginning of your contribution to the end of a 55-minute contribution, you could find yourself disagreeing with yourself on the things that you have done. You have to understand that people are watching. That is not A-team behaviour!”

Haynes-Alleyne also cautioned her UNC colleagues and other MPs against blindly supporting their party’s philosophy if it does not advance the development of Trinidad and Tobago.

“If your loyalty to your party supersedes your loyalty to the country that has provided us everything that we have, then you are not making the difference you think you are making. If you do not realise that a political party is merely a vehicle for national development, and if the vehicle you are in is not taking you where you want to go, you can fix it or you can move on!” she said.

Guardian Media reached out to Padarath for comment, and he remained unapologetic, asserting that Haynes-Alleyne has conflated bullying with UNC rejection.

“The Member is playing smart with foolishness, which I am certain everyone sees through. Bullying is when Members of Parliament tell you derogatory things about your family, when they call you children derogatory names, laughing at your clothes and calling it tablecloth, calling males princess. Where was Anita Haynes when all those things were happening?” he questioned.

Padarath also argued that being called ungrateful is not bullying and took issue with Haynes-Alleyne’s reference to Jayden Lalchan.

“It is shameful that instead of advocating for young Jayden and others, Miss Haynes is trivialising a serious issue in order to score cheap political points while heading toward political obscurity,” he stated.

During the budget debate in 2015, then Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Darryl Smith referred to Padarath as the ‘princess of Princes Town’, a remark for which he later apologised to Padarath for making. Smith later apologised to the LGBTQ community, amidst a storm of criticism on social media. This incident prompted Padarath to declare that he would not be bullied.

At the time, Haynes-Alleyne was not a member of parliament but served as the UNC’s PRO.

‘Not my last budget’

Meanwhile, Haynes-Alleyne addressed speculation about her future in Parliament, stating, “No, I do not believe this will be my last budget contribution. You do not know what time will hold, nobody here. Nobody here can say what will happen and how it will happen but when I entered the political landscape, I did so with the one underlying principle that I will do my best to serve Trinidad and Tobago.”

At the start of the first session of the 13th Parliament, Haynes-Alleyne and Naparima MP Rodney Charles were moved from their seats near party leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to a lower position on the Opposition bench, adjacent to their three colleagues Mayaro MP Rushton Paray, Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally and Cumuto/Manzanilla MP Dr Rai Ragbir.

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