COUVA South MP Rudranath Indarsingh has challenged Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis to explain what parliamentary standing order gave her the right to give her speaking time to the Prime Minister in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Opposition MPs walked out of the House on Tuesday, complaining the Government had breached the standing orders to give Dr Rowley additional speaking time.
The PM concluded debate on a motion to approve a joint select committee report on the Tobago Self Government Bill 2020.
On Friday, Indarsingh accused Robinson-Regis of being out of touch with reality and showing no respect for parliamentary process.
"I challenge Camille Robinson-Regis to point to any page, to any standing order which cedes speaking time to the Prime Minister."
In a statement on Thursday, Robinson-Regis said this was allowed under standing order 46 (2), which reads: "A minister may conclude a debate on any motion that is critical of the Government or reflects adversely on, or is calculated to bring discredit upon the Government or a government officer."
After D'Abadie/O'Meara MP Lisa Morris-Julian spoke in the debate on the motion on Tuesday, no UNC MP spoke after her,
Robinson-Regis said she sought Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George's advice as to whether standing order 46 (2) was applicable.
After Annisette-George said this would amount to two government ministers' replying and might be considered an abuse of process, she said, "It was in those circumstances that I decided to forfeit my right of reply. This allowed standing order 46(2) to be invoked by the government and the Speaker was so advised."
She said Annisette-George was also advised that the minister to reply would be the Prime Minister.
Robinson-Regis said when Rowley entered the speaking booth and confirmed he would be speaking under standing order 46 (2), "there was still silence on the Opposition bench."
After Rowley spoke for an hour and Annisette-George told him his time had expired, Robinson-Regis said, "As Leader of the House, I moved a motion that the Prime Minister be granted an additional 60 minutes given that I had ceded my time and given the importance of the debate."
She said this was not the first time a prime minister had been granted extended speaking time. Former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, she said, "was not only granted extended speaking time on occasions but was often allowed to interrupt proceedings in order to deliver ministerial statements since she was never able to arrive on time to do during routine business which takes place at the start."
Robinson-Regis said when the PNM was in opposition, "We never created mayhem nor disrespected the then Speaker (Wade Mark) even when his decisions raised questions about procedural fairness."
On this occasion, while the Opposition could have asked Rowley to stand down and to allow any of its MPs who had not spoken in the debate to do so, Robinson-Regis said, "None of them present said a word."
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