Support Country, Community and Causes

Oct 22, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

Mr. Oscar Ramjeet (KN Oct. 9) inadvertently stated, in a response to an article I penned on Lenox Shuman’s talk in New York, that I am a supporter of PPP. (Ramjeet praised and endorsed Shuman). I need to correct his statement on party affiliation. People should be loyal to country, community, and causes and not party or leadership. Leadership and party tend to abuse their supporters.
I never supported any party or government and I am not a member of the PPP. Being Indian does not make me an automatic supporter of PPP. In my pre-teen years, I used to accompany friends delivering and or selling Mirror newspaper. That was long before I knew what the term politics mean or what is communism (or socialism, capitalism and other isms). I spent two decades fighting for free and fair elections and opposing Burnhamism; that should not be translated into support for PPP. I am an admirer of Jaganism (helping the poor and working class and a lean, clean, non-corrupt government). That should not be translated into support for the PPP. Jaganism largely ended with the death of Dr. Jagan. I do not subscribe to ideology of PPP and several of its programmes, policies and decision making process. I believe every organization (including parties) should have absolute democracy on decision making – members should play the lead role in all decisions. The PPP made a lot of blunders that saw it expelled from government (at the behest of the US), three times and the party continues to make strategic errors. Who don’t listen, will feel what the elders used to say.
Ramjeet must not be reading the papers carefully of how critical I have been of the PPP and equally so of the coalition government. I am an independent minded, objective commentator, political analyst, and journalist (reporter). In addition, my role as a pollster prevents me from taking sides. I can hardly think of anyone who has been as critical (critiques, not attacks) of the PPP as me. There are some in PPP and APNU who don’t want to speak out against wrongs in their party for fear of losing perks and their parliamentary seats. They sell their souls for a seat or a position. They will also pay for their silence — what happens when their party lose? One side can win in ‘winner takes all system’!
Ramjeet must not confuse me with commentators or columnists or letter writers who are supportive of PPP or APNU and constantly attack or praise one another. I do neither because I am professional and unaligned and will not compromise integrity.

Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram

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