“Hooligan” and “Traitor” Traded as Siparia Borough Meeting Erupts

Political tensions inside the Siparia Borough Corporation boiled over on Tuesday morning as Mayor Doodnath Mayhroo and alderman Victor Roberts traded the words “hooligan” and “traitor” during a heated special statutory meeting.

The confrontation unfolded amid a dispute over the process being used to appoint chairmen to the corporation’s various committees.

Councillors and aldermen supporting the People’s National Movement (PNM), including Roberts, eventually walked out of the meeting after objecting to how the appointments were being handled.

The walkout highlighted the increasingly complicated balance of power inside the Siparia Borough Corporation, where the United National Congress (UNC) holds the mayoralty but recent political defections have changed the numbers around the council table.

Roberts, who entered the corporation as a UNC alderman, has since shifted his support to the PNM. Councillor for Siparia West/Fyzabad Jason Ali has also crossed the floor.

Those moves have given the PNM-aligned side a numerical advantage within the UNC-led corporation, setting the stage for disputes over committee control and the wider decision-making process.

Tuesday’s meeting demonstrated just how contentious that new political reality has become.

As disagreements intensified over the appointment of committee chairmen, exchanges between members became increasingly heated before the verbal clash between Mayhroo and Roberts.

The two men traded the labels “hooligan” and “traitor” as the meeting descended into disorder.

The PNM-aligned members subsequently left the proceedings, signalling that the disagreement went beyond personalities and centred on the legitimacy of the process being followed for the committee appointments. The core account of the confrontation, walkout and dispute over committee chairmanships has been reported publicly.

The confrontation could have wider implications for the functioning of the corporation.

Committees play an important role in municipal government, examining matters and making recommendations in areas under a corporation’s responsibility before decisions move through the council. Official records for the Siparia Borough Corporation specifically identify approved committee recommendations and committee meeting minutes among its records.

With the political balance inside the corporation altered by defections, control of those committees has therefore become an important part of the struggle over influence within the borough.

What was expected to be a meeting dealing with the corporation’s internal business instead became a public display of the growing political divide in Siparia, with the words “hooligan” and “traitor” capturing a much larger battle over who now holds effective power inside the council.