PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

The leader of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), Basdeo Panday, has accused a dissident faction of being on a mission to destroy the party ahead of upcoming local government elections.

Panday on Tuesday night hit out at the grouping, known as 'Ramjack', which is led by former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and international football administrator Jack Warner, after Warner released a manifesto for change within the UNC.

"If they cannot abide by the decisions of the party, then they have a choice," Panday said as he addressed supporters in central Trinidad.

"Hit the road. Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more, no more, no more … " he said in a sing-song fashion, mimicking the popular Ray Charles number.

Manifesto for change

Panday said it was curious that Warner had produced a manifesto for change in the UNC when there were critical issues facing the country like corruption, crime, poverty, and rising inflation.

He said that, instead of trying to improve things for the people of Trinidad and Tobago, the dissident faction was trying to destroy a 20-year-old party.

"The country is in shambles but all they want is the leadership of the UNC."

The former prime minister apologised, as he has done in recent months, for bringing Maharaj back into the UNC fold ahead of the 2007 general election. A few years earlier, Maharaj left the party after a rift with Panday, while the UNC was in government.

He defended the move as one done in the interest of unity but questioned the motives of Warner and Maharaj.