Power transition: SAJ and Roshi Bhadain at loggerheads

The news was a bombshell. Roshi Bhadain was absent at the swearing-in ceremony of the ministers of the new government, with Pravind Juganuth at its head, on Monday 23rd January. The former Minister of Good Governance and Financial Services explained on his Facebook page that: “My position as ‘Minister’ became vacant, according to S60 (3) of the Constitution when SAJ resigned this morning. I had said that when SAJ is no longer Prime Minister, I would not stay. I have not attended the ‘swearing-in’ ceremony for the ‘transition’, which is not in line with the principles of Good Governance and I have, in all humility, acted in the best interests of Mauritius.”

The new Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth did not hide his annoyance over the absence of his party member Roshi Bhadain at the swearing-in ceremony. “I appointed him minister. I expected him to come to the swearing-in ceremony. It’s a lack of respect. If he had any problem, he should have told me about it first,” said Pravind Jugnauth on Radio Plus. Pravind Jugnauth explained that Roshi Badhain had praised him during the MSM Political Bureau on Sunday 22nd January. He also argued that all procedures regarding the transition at the head of government were respected.

On Tuesday, the former Minister held his first press conference. Roshi Bhadain announced that he will launch a new political party. He said that it will propose an alternative to the “archaic system in place”. “When it sees the opposition and the government, the population is totally disconnected with politics. Even more with this power transition which is a very dark point of our History,” he said. 

Roshi Bhadain said that when a Prime Minister resigns, the Council of Ministers is automatically dissolved. The politician criticised the exercise. “On Monday morning, I contacted the secretary to Cabinet to ask if I was a minister or not and what portfolio would be entrusted to me. He told me that I had the same responsibilities. I do not know when or how others were informed.”

The former Minister of Financial Services said he has been “very loyal and sincere” for four years to Pravind Jugnauth, but things have changed since May 2015, “because of his collaborators.” Roshi Bhadain stressed that “the way of doing these last three days is anti-democratic and goes against good governance.” However for Roshi Bhadain, “the flame that rose in December 2014 is still alive” and that is what makes him believe that a new party is needed. He does not intend to resign from the National Assembly, nor join another political party. The former Minister stressed that he had “a lot of sympathy” and “a lot of respect for Sir Anerood Jugnauth for what he has accomplished and for his journey.”

SAJ lashes back

Following Roshi Bhadain’s press conference, the former Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth held a press conference at his home in La Caverne, Vacoas. The former PM reacted by stating that he felt that Roshi Bhadain was “dishonest” about the new Cabinet. “I had a lot of respect and friendship for him. I trusted him. His attitude disappoints me,” uttered the now Mentor Minister.

According to SAJ, Bhadain wanted to become the next Finance Minister. “I think he’s disappointed that he did not get the Ministry of Finance,” SAJ said, adding, “He may see this position as a springboard for him to get the job of Prime Minister one day.” 

Concerning the transfer of power at the head of the government, SAJ said that “Pravind Jugnauth is the leader of the political party that holds the majority in the National Assembly”. He added that he was “a candidate to be a member of the Lepep Alliance. The leaders chose me to be the Prime Minister in December 2014. It is quite legal that when I leave this post, Pravind Jugnauth, who has the support of the majority, takes over. If he was not the MSM leader, same would have applied for any other person in his place.”

Regarding the allegations made by Roshi Bhadain that a “mafia gravitates around the government”, SAJ said that it is “completely false”. 

“I challenge him to come and prove his words.” In his intervention, he also responded to Roshi Bhadain’s threats to make certain revelations if the “persecutions” against him and his family persisted. “I request him to come forward if he has any information against me. I invite him to come with these files. If there are things against me, he does not have to hesitate,” said the former head of the government. Sir Anerood Jugnauth also warned Roshi Bhadain: “If I get any evidence against him, besides what I have heard, I will not hesitate to use them.”