Xavier Luc Duval is back at it again with a PNQ focusing on the allegations of ‘sniffing’. He asked the Prime Minister to set up a Select Committee of senior members of the government and the Opposition to investigate the whole matter. Pravind Jugnauth, in his response, made it clear that such a process would be unwarranted at this stage.
Letter of discord
The Opposition Leader is calling for a Select Committee because he believes that “the CTO’s letter, dated 12 April, is a forgery“. The Opposition Leader added another layer, referring to the letter dated 02 July and signed by Girish Guddoy, leaked to the press on Monday, which was saying that there was no sniffing during the intervention of Indian technicians at Jacotet Bay in April, asking the PM if “the letter, dated 02 July, a day after the allegations made by Sherry Singh, about 2 months after the intervention at Jacotet Bay, was written to the PMO? And did the CTO sign it Under Duress? Answer with a clear answer,” XLD told PKJ.
The Prime Minister could not keep his calm. “I wish that if he is really a serious opposition leader, to repeat what he said outside the Parliament and not under Parliamentary immunity and there, I will answer him. The Opposition Leader retorted, “Set up a Select Committee. Let’s settle things from Parliament to Parliament, why do I have to go outside of Parliament ? What do you have to hide?”
Clash!
The Prime Minister raised his voice and said, “I am not afraid of the Leader of the Opposition or the members of the l’Espoir Platform. And it is because I am not afraid that I gave elements to the police to open an investigation. And at the end of the investigation, this case will be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who will decide in this case”, he said.
“Putting an exercise in parallel will not only be superfluous but also unjustified. The Select Committee’s report will lead to a debate in the National Assembly as stipulated in the Standing Orders and thereafter, the police will have to open an investigation. “ The Prime Minister alluded to the fact that the police have already opened an investigation into the allegation and it is ongoing. “We are not going to have another show… we are not going to waste any more time.”
Technical Report Jacotet Bay
The Opposition Leader went on to ask the PM to release the first technical report on the operations at Jacotet Bay. XLD was in possession of a letter which states that a first report was submitted to the PM on 15 April by a specialist. The Opposition Leader produced this letter in Parliament despite the Speaker’s request to the contrary. The PM denied the existence of such a report. “These are frivolous accusations; the Opposition Leader wants me to present something that does not exist”. Resuming, XLD asked Pravind Jugnauth if “the council of Ministers is aware of the threats”, to which the latter replied that “these are not matters to be discussed outside”.
XLD press conference at short notice
The Opposition Leader, supported by the entire Parliamentary Opposition, demanded access to the report of Girish Guddoy to find out its veracity!
Coming back to the setting up of a Select Committee, “the PM has hidden behind Standing Orders which limit the powers of a Select Committee, whereas it is up to us to change the Standing Orders. Countries like England, Canada, Australia have amended the Standing Orders they inherited from the colonial era. In all democracies, there is a Parliamentary oversight of the secret services, intelligence services and defense. Whether it is Canada, Australia, France, or America, there are parliamentary bodies and independent officers who have access to them. Because national security cannot be a license or a permit to do whatever you want. In a self-respecting democracy, there is always Parliamentary oversight through committees on national security.”
XLD also returned to the fact that there was “no mention of Survey in the previous letters, just as when he said that there was no response from Sherry Singh from October to December.” He concluded by saying “We want to know what really happened in those 6 hours. We have other very disturbing information.”
Arvind Boolell, fom the PTr, warned the PM not to play with the “integrity of the people any longer, Enough is Enough”. Shakeel Mohammed opened the debate on the fact that the CCID investigation follows the PM’s statement and not the accusation of the possibility of High Treason by the PM. He also stated that “there is another report from the Chief Technical Officer of Mauritius Telecom, we have seen it, we have read it. He also issued an ultimatum: “Will the PM have the courage to resign as soon as the report is published? Resign or you will be forced to resign! You still have time to save what remains of your dignity and honour,” he said.
For his part, the MMM Leader, Paul Berenger shouted, “We have no confidence in the ICAC and the Police. We do not do any India Bashing, which is the foundation of our country”.
Nando Bodha, leader of the RM, pointed out that “everything was a personal initiative of the Prime Minister and he was aware of all the developments“. He recalled that this matter is being taken up in the media and the image of Mauritius is at stake.
