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NFP accuses Victor Lal of using religion to remove Prof. Prasad, Lal denies conspiracy

NFP accuses Victor Lal of using religion to remove Prof. Prasad, Lal denies conspiracy
National Federation Party General Secretary Kamal Iyer says Oxford based blogger and former local journalist Victor Lal has shamelessly resorted to taking God’s name in vain and used a Bible verse to urge two Members of NFP's parliamentary caucus as well as the NFP President to usurp the leadership of Professor Biman Prasad.

However, Lal has rejected the allegations that he was involved in a political conspiracy against Professor Prasad, saying his private email simply expressed an opinion that Professor Prasad should step aside while facing criminal charges.

Iyer says NFP will not tolerate this despicable, gutter-level and cowardly conspiracy of Lal who has used religion and concocted more lies in his attempt to break the party’s unity and solidarity and further concoct shameful lies against Professor Prasad.

He says in the email dated 15th June to NFP President Parmod Chand, Party’s parliamentary caucus Whip and Minister for Defence and Veterans Affairs Pio Tikoduadua, and Deputy Speaker and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Lenora Qereqeretabua, Victor Lal states: 

“As we are all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, for Christ's sake, Biman Prasad must be forced to resign as NFP leader and also from Parliament”.

Iyer says Lal also suggests that Parmod Chand replace Professor Prasad in Parliament after he is forced to resign both as leader and as a Member of Parliament.

The Party General Secretary says Chand, Tikoduadua and Qereqeretabua are firm believers and followers of Christianity.

He says the party firmly believes that Lal is using religion and a Bible verse to incite ill-will and hostility amongst the party’s ranks and hope it drives a wedge amongst the caucus, however, he will never succeed.

Iyer stresses that malicious email wasn’t sent to two other caucus members, Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations Agni Deo Singh and Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran.

He asks if this is because they are Hindus.

Iyer says for someone who was a journalist to take God’s name, use religion and manufacture lies in the hope that certain members will pander to his devious plan is clearly the work of a psychopath.

He says Lal cannot digest the fact that despite his conspiracies, the NFP remains a strong, united force.

He says apart from confirming in the email, that he is the principal complainant in the case of FICAC against Professor Prasad, Lal claims he has more evidence against the NFP Leader.

While responding, Lal says the party was entitled to defend its leader but not to misrepresent his motives or the contents of what he described as a private communication.

He says there was no political conspiracy, no attempt to destabilise NFP and certainly no plan to divide its parliamentary caucus.

Lal says he privately wrote to senior NFP members expressing his opinion that Professor Prasad should step aside as party leader and from Parliament while facing criminal charges and while further complaints remain before Fiji's investigative authorities.

He argues that his position is consistent with the NFP's own history, pointing to the removal of former party president Dorsami Naidu after criminal charges were laid against him in 2005.

Lal says the obvious question is why Professor Prasad should be treated differently.

Responding to claims that he used religion to create divisions within the party, Lal rejects the allegation, saying his email was a private communication to individuals he understood to be practising Christians.

He says he began the email by saying, "As we are all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ," and quoted a Bible verse because he believed it raised an ethical issue relevant to public leadership and accountability.

Lal says quoting Scripture in a private exchange with Christian politicians was not an attempt to incite religious hostility but an expression of a moral viewpoint.

He also dismisses suggestions that he deliberately excluded other NFP ministers because of their religion.

Lal says he simply did not have their personal contact details and wrote only to senior NFP members whose contact information was available to him.

He says any suggestion that his decision was motivated by religion, ethnicity or sectarian considerations is entirely false.

Responding to references about his role in the FICAC case involving Professor Prasad, Lal says he has never hidden the fact that he lodged complaints with the authorities.

He says for several years he has publicly acknowledged submitting documentary evidence because he believes those entrusted with public office should be held to the same legal standards as every other citizen.

Lal stresses that the outcome of those complaints is a matter for Fiji's investigative and judicial authorities and says Professor Prasad, like every accused person, is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

He says the issue has never been about Victor Lal personally but about whether political leaders should be held accountable to the same standards they expect of others.

Lal also challenges the NFP to address what he describes as an inconsistency in its treatment of party leaders facing criminal charges.

He says rather than dismissing criticism as a political conspiracy, the National Federation Party would better serve the public by addressing the substantive questions surrounding its leader, including why Dorsami Naidu was required to step down while Professor Prasad has remained party leader.

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