The National Federation Party firmly believes Employment, Youth & Sports Minister Parveen Kumar Bala’s remarks at a primary school event in Ba are a direct threat to the voters and aimed at inciting ill-will and hostility amongst Indo-Fijian voters against the Opposition.
“Despicable, racist and an example of gutter-level politics shamelessly practiced by Fiji First in its extremely desperate attempt to cling onto power at any cost even if it means lying to the voters”, is how the NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad has described Bala’s speech to students of Vashist Muni Memorial Primary School in Ba last Friday.
Professor Prasad said Bala was deliberately lying by accusing past governments of “compartmentalising” different ethnic communities for political gain.
And he challenged the Minister to reveal which leader or political party is trying to “segregate ethnic communities” and “betray the Indo-Fijian community”.
The NFP Leader said Bala was directly threatening Indo-Fijian voters not to vote for any other party apart from Fiji First because they won’t be safe if they didn’t support the ruling party.
“This is vote-buying by inciting racial ill-will and hostility. It is against the 2013 Constitution imposed unilaterally upon the people if Fiji by Bala’s leaders namely the Prime Minister and Attorney-General”.
“And it is also illegal because the lies and direct threats contradict the electoral and political party laws, also imposed by Fiji First”.
“But the current government, especially its ministers of the likes of Bala, for all intents and purposes have a free licence to do or say as they please, without having to even worry about consequences”.
“They behave like lap-dogs and the mouth-piece of a leadership that has adopted an Animal Farm approach in the implementation of rules because it knows too well of the crushing electoral defeat staring at them”.
“Therefore, Bala obviously has the blessings of Voreqe Bainimarama and Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum to lie and make direct threats in a last ditch attempt to win votes that have dried up, not only for him but also significantly shifted away from his political masters”.
“The two men rule are obviously condoning such statements because they have failed to act when similar remarks were reported earlier this year”.
“And we can say with every certainty that once the Writ for Elections are issued, Bainimarama and his team will practice the same level, if not more, of the racial campaign, which Fiji witnessed 4 years ago”.
“Fiji First will adopt every dirty political tactic, but they know that clutching at straws will not prevent them from being banished into political wilderness by the voters”.
Professor Biman Prasad
Leader