A heated parliamentary dispute culminated in the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) staging an abrupt walkout from the chamber late Friday, after the Deputy House Speaker Dr. Aiyna Ali rejected repeated opposition objections to discussions targeting senior opposition figures. The confrontation unfolded during debate on a government-backed motion to approve the Special Report of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), brought forward by Government Minister Saddam Hosein. Speaking as a sitting PAAC member, Works and Infrastructure Minister Jearlean John opened the contentious line of debate by revealing that two opposition senators — Janelle John-Bates and Faris Al-Rawi — had assisted former Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh in drafting his witness statement submitted to the committee, a fact confirmed by visible tracked edits in the official document.
From the outset, senior opposition MP Colm Imbert raised repeated procedural objections, arguing that Al-Rawi had no standing as a subject of the motion under debate. But Ali dismissed these challenges, ruling that since Al-Rawi was explicitly named in the document’s edited record, his involvement was directly relevant to the discussion. John seized on the ruling to escalate her criticism, turning her focus to PNM Leader Pennelope Beckles, claiming the opposition was actively pushing for Beckles’ ouster and that she was being “set up” by internal allies. John further alleged that while opposition members were pushing to remove John-Bates from her senate seat over her role in the Deyalsingh statement, Al-Rawi was being protected from any consequences, a double standard that exposed what John called the “weakness” of Beckles’ leadership.
Tensions boiled over as John labeled the protection of Al-Rawi a “brotherhood of wrongdoing”, noting that John-Bates had already offered her resignation over the incident. She argued the entire debate could have been avoided if Beckles had removed John-Bates from her senate position, while pointing out that Al-Rawi shared equal culpability for the statement and remained entirely unpunished. When Beckles rose to object, arguing that neither her leadership nor Al-Rawi’s conduct was the subject of the existing motion, Government Minister Barry Padarath snapped back with the retort: “If you cannot handle the heat, get out of the kitchen!”
Ali maintained her ruling that Al-Rawi’s involvement remained a legitimate topic for debate, a decision that prompted unified opposition pushback. With tensions at a breaking point, the entire PNM caucus staged a coordinated walkout of the chamber. Government members responded by shouting accusations of cowardice and attempts to avoid accountability, with John declaring “Go! Get out of here!” as opposition lawmakers exited.
Following the walkout, John doubled down on the government’s demands, announcing that if Al-Rawi retained his senate seat, the governing party would raise formal objections to his participation on every parliamentary committee he sits on. The government has already objected to John-Bates’ role on the Joint Select Committee on National Security, and John warned that the same treatment would await Al-Rawi on the Energy Committee: “Should he show up, we will show him the door…he has to go; we are not going to sit with him!” She pressed her attack on Beckles, asking “Is Al-Rawi too big to fail? Does proportionality not apply to Senator Al-Rawi?” and called for both Al-Rawi and John-Bates to be removed from their senate positions. Closing her remarks, John predicted the PNM would remain stuck in opposition for a minimum of 20 years.
Despite the empty opposition benches, the debate continued for more than four hours before parliament was adjourned, with the next sitting scheduled for May 8.