Asha Javeed
Contributing Writer
An event to mark Divali celebrations at Parliament, which the Prime Minister and her ministers claim as historic, has raised questions about who organised and funded it.
Both House Speaker Jagdeo Singh and Deputy Speaker Dr Aiyna Ali told Guardian Media that the Parliament staff organised the event.
However, Colleen Holder, Parliament’s Director of Corporate Communications and Productions, told the media yesterday that it was an outside event which they facilitated.
“While the event was held at the Parliament, it was not organised by the Parliament,” she told the media yesterday.
When contacted, Singh said: “I had nothing to do with the funding or the arrangements of it. That is the Parliament staff.”
For her part, when contacted, Ali initially told Guardian Media that Parliament organised it.
However, when pressed further about her role, Ali said she helped with the planning and co-ordination of the event. When asked about funding for the event, she said she did not have those answers but that information could be obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Holder described it as a “spillover from the sitting.”
Asked specifically by Guardian Media who funded it, Holder responded: “It was not organised by Parliament, so I cannot say.”
The event, which included both the Government and Opposition members as well as children, was held on Friday following the conclusion of the day’s sitting of the House of Representatives. It was jointly hosted by Singh and Senate President Wade Mark.
According to social media posts by Parliament, state television station TTT, MPs Barry Padarath and Saddam Hosein, the event included speeches by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, a re-enactment of Ramleela, deya lighting and a parade of murtis (statues of Hindu Gods) on trucks along Abercrombie Street. At the event, Beckles-Robinson was gifted a token from the Prime Minister.
A hand in staging
In seeking to distinguish Parliament’s role in the hosting of the event, Holder explained that other similar events are usually held at Parliament.
“The event was held at the Red House. Consultation took place between Parliament staff and the presiding officers as always happens with such events,” she said. She observed that Parliament hosted a creche blessing event in the same courtyard last year, also in consultation with the presiding officers.
Asked by Guardian Media to identify the organiser of the Divali event, Holder responded: “I do not have that information” but that they “are in the know and had a hand in staging.”
In the past, she noted, Parliament hosted many events by organisations which are not directly related to the Parliament, like the First Peoples’ smoke ceremony, which happens on October 12 every year.
“Once the requisite requests are made, discussions held and approvals granted. It is after all the People’s Parliament,” she said. Most recently, Parliament hosted the anniversary launch/discussion of the TTPS 1990 documentary and every Thursday, it hosts weddings on behalf of the Ministry of Legal Affairs.
Asked then, if Parliament didn’t organise it, whether a hosting fee was paid, she responded: “The Parliament is not a receiver of revenue, so no fees are paid. As I indicated, various requests are made, discussions held and requests may or may not be granted. Each request is considered on its own.”
Parliament was allocated $162 million in the 2027 Budget 2027.
At the event, Persad-Bissessar described it as a proud and moving moment as it marked 60 years since Divali was declared a public holiday.
“To our children here and everywhere, I say this: Parliament belongs to you. You don’t need rich parents, or elite connects to matter here. You matter here today simply because you are a child of our beloved nation. Your name, your faith, your family’s income or where you live can never make you less deserving of its care,” she said.
Meanwhile, Beckles appealed for greater national unity.
“Our diversity is not our weakness; it is our greatest strength. As Leader of the Opposition, I wish to make a special appeal to our nation on this sacred occasion: let us choose unity over division, let us choose understanding over tolerance, and let us choose hope over despair,” Beckles said.
