AFC distances self from attack on Indian High Commissioner

PIO Conference in India

…as Imran Khan disregards Joseph Harmon caution

Even after the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, had appealed to senior Government officials to refrain from making controversial statements on their social media platforms, the Director of Public Information, a senior member of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Imran Khan, continues to question the Indian Government’s intention over the invitation of Members of Parliament for the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Parliamentary Conference held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

His continued attack of the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, His Excellency Mr Venkatachalam Mahalingam, have resulted in the AFC distancing itself from his comments.
“Mr Imran Khan’s post does not reflect the Alliance For Change position. We have extremely cordial relationship with the Indian Government and the Indian High Commissioner,” AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, has said.
Ramjattan, in a telephone interview, said the AFC supports the remarks made by Harmon when he said the views are Khan’s personal views and the Government can only appeal to its senior officials to refrain from making controversial statements.
Khan on Wednesday posted a comment on his Facebook page, questioning whether the Indian High Commission in Guyana was interfering in this country’s internal affairs and was attempting to engage in destabilisation of the coalition Government.
His statement was in relation to the recently concluded Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Parliamentary Conference held in New Delhi on Tuesday, which was attended by a 23-member Guyanese delegation upon the invitation of the Indian Government. The delegation, the largest at the conference, comprised 17 Opposition and three Government parliamentarians, as well as three Mayors – all of Indian heritage.

The DPI Director, in his post, has asked whether the Indian High Commission had deliberately invited only three Government backbenchers, and had specifically ignored Government ministers of Indian heritage.
He then tagged the Indian High Commissioner in his post, forcing a response, in which it was explained that the top hierarchy of both the Indian and Guyana Governments are aware that the invitations were for 23 Members of Parliament and three mayors of Indian origin who are not ministers.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Minister Harmon further outlined that the invitations from the Indian Government were to Members of Parliament, and the respective Chief Whips on both the Government and Opposition sides had engaged the High Commission on the selection process of who would attend the conference.
However, the DPI had continued on by posting a photo of Opposition Parliamentarian Nigel Dharamlall with Jamaican Attorney General Marlene Malahoo-Forte with the caption, “Arlene Malahoo-Forte is Attorney General and an elected member of the Jamaica Parliament and a ranking member of Cabinet. She was invited to and attended the Persons of Indian Origin Parliamentarians Conference in New Delhi, India. No Minister from Guyana was invited. Only non-minister MPs were invited from Guyana. Why the double standard Mahalingam Venkatachalam?” again tagging the High Commissioner.
Again, the High Commissioner engaged Khan, and patiently explained that as far as the Indian Government knows, Malahoo-Forte is Attorney General of Jamaica and is an elected MP of Jamaica. He further explained that she was invited since she was not a minister, unlike in the case of Guyana, where the Attorney General also holds the post of Minister of Legal Affairs.
Khan’s latest post questioned whether the Indian Government would have “even fathomed inviting non-Ministerial MPs ONLY to the Persons of Indian Origin Parliamentarians Conference had the PPP been in government here in Guyana, and/or the UNC been in government in Trinidad and Tobago?”
Minister Harmon has said this matter is engaging the attention of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who has direct responsibility for the Department of Public Information. Prime Minister Nagamootoo is yet to publicly address the issue, and efforts to contact him have all proved futile.