Blog: Fresh Mandate - A honorable Action for Pravind

Who was more convincing, Navin Ramgoolam or Pravind Jugnauth? Both met the media at different intervals to explain the reasons, events and facts leading to their breakup.

The Prime Minister accused the MSM and its leader Pravind Jugnauth of treason to the Alliance Party, and the mandate given by the electorate to the MSM to govern under the leadership of Navin Ramgoolam. He called upon the MSM MPs to resign and seek a new mandate.

Pravind Jugnauth says that he and his MPs are prepared to do so if the Prime Minister and other MPs of Alliance de l'Avenir do the same. I do not understand the logic. Navin Ramgoolam received a mandate in a free and fair general election to be Prime Minister and govern the country. In fact, his mandate was renewed. He had won the 2010 general election successively after his victory in 2005.

Today, even after the departure of the MSM, he enjoys a comfortable majority, and can continue to govern easily. It was Pravind Jugnauth who had cut short his mission abroad, came back and forced his ministers to resign to express his solidarity to Maya Hanoomanjee and to protest against the way of doing things by ICAC. He had expressed his loyalty to the PM, asked his nominees to remain in post and had promised to serve the alliance from the backbench. He did all this when the PM was abroad on mission.

And then he led his party to cross the floor and sit in opposition. He has no mandate to do so. Hence, the demand of the Prime Minister to the MSM to resign and seek a fresh mandate. If Pravind Jugnauth is convinced that he is right and has taken the right decision in the interest of his party, its members, rank and file, he can easily provoke by-elections. The same MPs can stand again in the same constituencies and may even benefit from the support of the MMM.

I would just like to remind him that Ashock Jugnauth used to come out first in constituency number 8 was re-elected on top in 2005 as an MMM/MSM candidate but was defeated in the by-election and the 2010 general election in spite of the support of MMM.

I think that Pravind Jugnauth is intelligent enough to realize that he will suffer the same fate as Ashock Jugnauth and none of his candidates will be returned. I concede that he has not foreseen the turn of events which led to the breakup. He thought that the PM will accommodate those who had resigned and might even have interfered with the functioning of independent institutions like ICAC. All those who had resigned had done so in the hope that they will be back on the return of the PM and it will be business as usual.

But PM chose to give them a master blow and the shock of their life. He called off their bluff. He issued just a communiqué saying that he will allow independent institutions like ICAC to function and to do their job without interference. He won public opinion to his side and the unanimous support of the media and opinion leaders for doing so.

Whatever Pravind Jugnauth may say, the public believes that had the PM intervened with ICAC on the Medpoint issue, or even abolish it as the MMM had done in the case of ECO, everything would have been fine with MSM. They would have continued to serve the PM loyally and complete their mandate.

Personally, I feel sad and regret that Pravind Jugnauth has completed the life circle of MSM prematurely. He has dug his own grave, without taking into consideration the consequences and the interests of his grassroot followers. He relies upon Paul Berenger to keep him going.

I have talked to quite a few MMM influential members. They are having a good laugh at Pravind's expense. They do not understand how silly Pravind Jugnauth could be. One of his members was not even found guilty. She was just provisionally accused. In our system, an accused party is innocent until found guilty. Then why did he bring all his close ones to the slaughter house?

The MMM members are happy that they broke the alliance and downsized MSM. Do we still remember who had said "p'tit cretin"? And referring to whom? Pravind Jugnauth says that he had no problem working with Paul Berenger between 2000 and 2005. Naturally, Sir Anerood Jugnauth was PM, Pravind Jugnauth, Minister of Agriculture and then that of Finance under Paul Berenger.

In 2005, Navin Ramgoolam defeated both MMM and MSM, and Pravind Jugnauth was not even elected. MMM threw him out, broke the Jugnauth family, and kept Ashock Jugnauth with him as an ally. At one time, they were three Jugnauths in the cabinet. There is none today. All this through Pravind's fault.

Navin Ramgoolam got him elected in a by-election, made more than an honorable alliance with the MSM, gave his party the best ministerial portfolios, appointed all his nominees and what gratitude did he receive for all this? A knife on his back? If this is not betrayal, then what is it?

Pravind Jugnauth justifies his decision of breaking from the alliance on the ground that he was suffocating working under the PM, that the PM was too slow to take decisions and he could not take the heat of Neeta Deerpalsing. He thought it was better for him to leave and sit in the opposition.

Still I could not imagine that he could fall so low and attack Neeta and Mireille Martin in such unbecoming words. There is unanimous condemnation of his language, used deliberately to hurt and diminish womanwolk. Neeta is one of the brightest MPs in the house and does an excellent job as a backbencher. It is her duty to ask questions and for ministers to answer. We should not forget that the ministers whosoever they are, are members of the cabinet of Ramgoolam. They should not expect backbenchers to behave as sheep or vegetables. There is a glaring paradox with Pravind Jugnauth. While he went to an irrational extreme to show his solidarity with Maya Hanoomanjee, he literally swam in mud and filth when it comes to Nita and Mirelle.

I know that the unfortunate word was uttered by the PM in an angry outburst. Without him knowing or realizing that the radio mikes were on. But Pravind has used it deliberately and with premeditation in full knowledge that the radio mike was on and he was live. The least he could do now is to apologise publicly. Do we still have such gentlemen in politics?

Pravind Jugnauth has pleaded ignorance to the Medpoint deal and said he has nothing to do with it. When Le Matinal had published his approval signature on the document, he had nothing else to say but Le Matinal is a 'Labour mouthpiece'. He could not have stooped lower. Of course he could not deny his signature.

He must be having sleepless nights when Jayen Cutarree and Paul Berenger are talking to the Prime Minister for hours. Do we really believe that they are talking only electoral reforms? MMM wanted a pre-electoral alliance with Labour. Can't they do so based on their strength of the post-elections results? And having a good laugh by leaving Pravind Jugnauth and the MSM in 'carreau canne'. Both Labour and MMM have enough motive to do so.

But there is no need to highjack the mandate of the electorate. Ramgoolam has a mandate to be PM and govern. Paul Berenger to be leader of the opposition. Pravind Jugnauth should stop day-dreaming. The only honorable way left for him is to seek a fresh mandate. I do not see any alliance between MMM and MSM. MMM is not foolish to take on board the MSM and project Pravind Jugnauth as PM for the 2015 elections. It has better qualified prime ministerial candidates within its own ranks. Or will the MSM finally merge with the MMM?