00:00The People's National Movement took its public meeting to Beatham Gardens in Laventhal West on Thursday night.
00:07Addressing supporters, opposition leader Penelope Beckles pushed back against recent government claims,
00:13particularly surrounding her family's ties to CPEP.
00:16I was the minister with responsibility for CPEP from 2003 to 2007.
00:22You would have seen recently they put up a post that my father has five CPEP gangs.
00:30My father died more than 10 years ago.
00:34Yes, he was a CPEP contractor like everybody else.
00:37He got a contract as though, well, you know, my father, like others, could not have had a CPEP contract.
00:45But they want you to believe for some strange reason that he's still alive.
00:50And he has five gangs.
00:55Desperation is a hell of a thing.
00:57Beckles defended the value of CPEP workers, stressing their contributions not only to local communities,
01:04but also during regional crises, such as in Grenada after Hurricane Ivan.
01:10She reaffirmed the PNM's commitment to the program and its workers and promised to seek justice on their behalf.
01:17She also reflected on her own rise from humble beginnings,
01:22crediting PNM policies for giving her the opportunity to serve
01:25and encouraged residents to believe in hard work and integrity.
01:30Beckles also addressed what she called a misrepresentation of her comments
01:34regarding the recent visit by India's prime minister.
01:37She pointed to a long-standing diplomatic relationship between the two countries,
01:42one she says which championed by past the PNM governments since Indira Gandhi's visit in 1968.
01:49If you listen to the Honourable Kamala Passat-Bissessa in the Parliament
01:55taking credit for what we call positive trade with India, 1.2 billion,
02:05you would feel that in two months they did that.
02:08No credit to Dr. Rowley and the People's National Movement.
02:11I want you all to remember that when Dr. Rowley spoke about having a cashless society,
02:21the UNC objected.
02:23Aksha Galston, TV6 News.
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