“Wait and see!” was a response that came back several times from Pravind Jugnauth when asked what he wanted to do with his latest detractor, Sherry Singh. He felt that the former CEO was “lying” and invited him to go and lodge a complaint with the police against him and that he would answer to the investigators.
“On a specific allegation, he is lying”
The PM was speaking in Bois-Marchand on Saturday at a function for the International Day of Cooperatives. In front of the press, he made it clear that he has not personally listened to the allegations of Sherry Singh but has listened to a report. “I am not going to elaborate on all his words, but on one specific allegation, I can say that he is lying,” said the PM as he referred to the widely publicized allegation by Sherry Singh about a direct instruction by Pravind Jugnauth over the phone to allow access to a third party from abroad to monitor internet traffic not only within the territory but also inbound and outbound. “If Sherry Singh really believes in everything he has said, if he is not a liar, if he is not a bluffer, if he is a responsible citizen, let him go and file a complaint against me with the police and let us start an investigation. I will answer the police on every point,” he advised him publicly, before telling the press, “Wait and see. Be patient, you will soon know why the Maharaja resigned.”
Dictatorship: “I cannot execute everything X, Y or Z asks me to do”
On a point about the allegation of dictatorship on the part of the PM who would never listen, the PM replied “I am a Prime Minister, who has a whole Council of Ministers. I listen to my Cabinet, and I listen to the people. But I cannot execute everything that X, Y or Z asks me to do. I take my own decisions“. The PM revealed that it has been a long time since he met Sherry Singh and scolded that he learnt about the latter’s resignation on the media. “Decency dictates that he meets the one, who placed his trust in him for this position, to discuss these differences and his intentions to resign“, said the PM. He also deplored the attacks on his wife and family by the latter. “This shows how far he has fallen. Attack me personally, attack me as a PM and politician, why attack my family?”
Not a political partner
The PM concluded with the threat of a statement from Sherry Singh that could force the government to ‘Step-Down’. “If he really has such points, let him do it quickly instead of threatening a tsunami” before adding “the elections are in the hands of the people, not the Opposition. I will indeed finish my mandate” in response to those calling for his immediate resignation. The PM said he was not aware of any Opposition game behind the resignation and did not feel that the resigning CEO was entering the political arena. Pravind Jugnauth said that “in any case, with all this, he is not positioning himself as a political partner!” As for the question of municipal elections, “the government will make a decision in due course,” said the PM.
