BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, October 29th 2009 (PAM Secretariat) - Leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), Lindsay Grant has joined his colleague and representative for Constituency One, Glenroy Blanchette, in issuing an appeal to Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas to a public debate.
Grant said that he wants Dr. Douglas to debate him on a wide range of issues but noted he is not optimistic that his challenge would be accepted. He said that in past years he has issued numerous challenges to the PM without any being accepted. He urged the PM to accept the public challenge,] noting that the public needs to be informed on wide ranging issues.
In throwing out the challenge, Grant said it is time Dr. Douglas “puts up or shut up”, and announced that he is willing to debate him anywhere and place and is also prepared to have it hosted by anyone the Prime Minister chooses.
Registering his disgust with the repeated accusations made by the PM about the party, its candidates and a number of election-related issues, Grant said they are woefully inaccurate and that is one of the reasons why he is interested in the debate.
Grant declared that he is ready to debate Dr. Douglas on any issue he chooses, past or present, and also on the political process in the country.
Grant said that the PAM is very confident of being victorious at the upcoming polls. He also noted that the delaying tactics being used by the PM indicate that he is scared of contesting the elections for fear that he would lose to the PAM.
Grant is of the view that Dr. Douglas is not interested in debating issues, noting that it is a ploy to further delay the elections. He stated that the Labour Party needs to be clear on the issues of which they are misleading the public.
Grant noted that with the mutterings Douglas have been peddling, which include he is “ten men in one”, he should not be afraid to debate for a debate has many formats.
“We within the People’s Action Movement strongly believe that as politicians we should be ready and willing to debate issues. As such, we are not afraid to debate Dr. Douglas and or any of his ministers,” he added.
In the event of the PM failing to accept the challenge, Grant said that the public should see it as yet another attempt by the Government to deviate and hide from public disclosure, accountability and ensuring that the public is properly informed on critically pertinent issues.
