Minority Front leader Shameen Thakur Rajbansi has rejected a peace deal from the opposing faction in her party.
|||Durban - Minority Front leader Shameen Thakur Rajbansi has rejected a peace deal from the opposing faction in her party, calling it a ridiculous proposal from “political salesmen” who want to save their skins.
“I will never consider this (settlement)… it is just pure rubbish,” she said on Wednesday.
The rejection of the settlement of the legal dispute between Thakur Rajbansi and two MF councillors could now see the squabbles between the two factions continuing to play out in court, and might derail the party’s campaign before next year’s election.
Roy Bhoola, the leader of the opposing faction, but who is not party to the legal matter, said the botched settlement was an attempt to bring unity to the party.
The two sides are involved in a bitter court battle stemming from a disciplinary hearing instituted by the party leadership against two councillors - Dheenadayalan Govender and Ganas Govender.
The councillors were charged with misconduct for their role in organising an MF conference at which Bhoola was elected as party leader.
The conference was not recognised by the Thakur Rajbansi faction.
In turn the two councillors have questioned the legitimacy of her election as leader of the party.
The two councillors tried to avoid a court battle by proposing a settlement, which would have seen an interim national executive committee of the party being elected within three months.
Bhoola said the settlement was an attempt to instil democratic principles and to return the MF to its constitution.
But Thakur Rajbansi rejected such an offer, saying that her opponents had to let the matter take its course.
Dheenadayalan Govender refused to comment while Ganas Govender could not be reached. The rejected settlement had proposed among other things that:
* neither Thakur Rajbansi nor Bhoola be deemed legitimate leaders.
* an interim national conference be convened within 90 days and be held at a mutually accepted venue.
* since the legitimacy of members and branches were being questioned, that the delegates to the interim conference comprise only of elected office bearers.
* all pending disciplinary processes be withdrawn and a written undertaking be given that no further action would be taken against any of the MF’s public representatives.
* an independent interim disciplinary panel be appointed.
A livid Thakur Rajbansi dismissed the proposal as a strategy by the implicated councillors to ensure that they hang on to their positions by all means.
“They have come with the most ridiculous proposal I have ever seen. These are just being made to stall the process and to eventually destroy the MF,” she said.
“What kind of nonsense is this that these people should get absolute guarantees that they will not be removed from their positions?
“This is just to ensure that they stay forever in politics no matter what. Only a person who thinks like a political salesman would say something like that because they are in politics just for a job.”
But Bhoola said reaching a settlement would have brought about peace in the MF.
He said the voters were more important “than fighting each other”.
Thakur Rajbansi’s lawyer has notified lawyers of the opposing faction that the offer had been rejected.
Thakur Rajbansi said despite the split in the MF, she was optimistic about the party’s chances in the elections.
“With the few people working with me we have been working very hard to ensure that the voters continue to get what they want,” she said.
Daily News