SPEAKER ORDERS CUMMINGS OUT OF HOUSE

“Nobody tramples on my rights.”

These were the combative words of Senator Daniel Cummings last Wednesday night hours after he was evicted from the House of Assembly by Speaker of the House, Hendrick Alexander just prior to the debate of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.

Cummings told SEARCHLIGHT that he was looking into all the courses of action that were available to him after his premature exit from the House. He said that he was convinced that what happened was planned and it was part of an ongoing conspiracy against him.{{more}}

“They want to shut up Daniel Cummings,” he said as he let out a prolonged chuckle, further stating “they would not learn.”

Cummings said that despite the way his encounter with the Speaker of the House seemed to the public he wasn’t embarrassed about it. He is also convinced that the Speaker erred when he named him, and dismissed him from the sitting.

“He can’t name me unless someone moves a motion to do so, so he was out of order,” Cummings stated.

“I am demanding an apology,” said the Speaker earlier on Wednesday as he forcefully and repeatedly thumped his fist on his desk and demanded a full, unreserved apology from the Senator for statements he made at a political meeting five weeks ago.

The Speaker ruled that Senator Cummings, during his speech at a political meeting at Petit Bordel, had misrepresented a statement that the Prime Minister made in Parliament.

Senator Cummings told NDP supporters in Petit Bordel that the Prime Minister said, among other things, that there was no need for any Integrity Legislation in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

After listening a tape of Cummings’ speech from the meeting and comparing what the Prime Minister said in Parliament the Speaker ruled that Cummings had in fact transgressed.

He ordered him to apologize and retract his statement and when the Senator sought to divert into an explanation the Speaker was adamant that his apology be unconditional and immediate.

A discussion ensued about the authenticity of the tape and the minutes of the house.

It was then that the Speaker became visibly outraged. He viewed Cummings’ statement as an inference of misconduct by

his office.

Cummings made several attempts to apologise but it was after he asked the Speaker “are you happy now?” that he was called by name and ordered out.