Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has scoffed at recent calls by the political opposition for a debate with himself or President, Dr. Irfaan Ali.
Dr Jagdeo who is also the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) described the request as a bid for attention. He made it clear that he nor the president would be engaging with the opposition on such terms.
“They are just looking for headlines… They want us to popularize what they’re saying. Nobody pays attention to what they’re saying…they’re looking for relevance,” Jagdeo stated.
The Vice President contended that no “serious minded person” pays attention to Norton or the Alliance for Change (AFC). Further to this, Jagdeo said such a debate would be unproductive and fail to address the key issues that separate the two sides. “I would say to President Ali… don’t waste your time behind these people. What are you going to debate?” he noted.
The Vice President also criticized the opposition’s past handling of the economy and accused them of focusing on political stunts.
To this end, he stressed that the PPP would continue to focus on its development agenda without distraction. “So it’s a waste of time. I don’t waste my time. I prefer to debate with the farmer or the fisherman or the miner than to waste my time behind (former Finance Minister, Winston) Jordan,” he added.
