Speaker bans Manickchand over remark

Education Minister Priya Manickchand was this afternoon banned from speaking during the 2014 budget debate by Speaker of the House Raphael Trotman for refusing to apologize to APNU MP Jaipaul Sharma.

Manickchand was heckling APNU MP Volda Lawrence during her address to the house. Manickchand said that APNU had to ask in house about certain allegations.

Lawrence was at the time stating that more needed to be done to assist young women who were victims of sexual assault including statutory rape.

Trotman stated he would not tolerate such language and heckling in the House and banned Manickchand.

At the start of the debate the Speaker had issued guidelines of conduct and had warned that those falling afoul risked being banned.