Managing Editor of the Insight News Paper Kwasi Pratt Jnr has asked players in the major political parties in Ghana, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to stop being hypocritical in relation to their comments on the death of former president Jerry John Rawlings.
Mr Pratt described the conduct of these players as disgusting and must end.
He said on a television network that “Things are getting out of hands . The death of former president Rawlings is heavily exposing the hypocrisy, double standards and lies of the major political parties in this country and the players .
“I have lived as an adult throughout all these ages. I know what people said before , what they did before . This hypocrisy, double standards and lies ought to end. What standards are we setting with all these hypocrisy, lies double standards and so on?
“Major players of the political parties are speaking from both sides of their mouths and it is a shame. All of them know that they are being hypocritical , all of them know that they are peddling lies , all of them know that they are poisoning the political atmosphere.
“A day must come in our history where we don’t do everything for the purpose of winning elections . A day must come one when we do things because we believe in them even if that will lead us to lose elections.
“The presidential candidate of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama is a good friend of mine . I consider him as a brother.
“He made me so proud in 2016 when he made the statement that he is not going to behave in a manner that will just make him win elections and that he insist on doing the right things even if that will lead to his losing an election.
“I want to hope that what he said in 2016 will be the thing that will guide all of us all the politicians in the major parties. I am totally disgusted by the deliberate lies, hypocrisy, what a shame.”
Following the death of Mr Rawlings, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia said the party recognizes the power of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the funeral of the late former president Jerry John Rawlings.
He told journalists on Friday November 13 that given that Mr Rawlings was a statement, the president has the powers under the laws to give him a state honour.
But he said, the NDC will also honour Mr Rawlings in their own way.
“We are not going to usurp the power of the president in honouring a former president, we are not going to usurp the power of the immediate family in celebrating the life of their dear one, we are not going to prevent the family in Anlo from honouring president Rawlings but we also deserve to honour our Founding Father otherwise, the party will not be worth dying for,” he said after signing the book of condolence opened by the party in his honour on Friday November 13.
He further accused the governing New Patriotic Party of crying more than the bereaved.
He said the same people who vilified Mr Rawlings and withdrew his privileges and entitlements as a former president are now claiming to be celebrating him.
He said “It is interesting to note that people who didn’t give president Rawlings his honour and privileges as a former president of the Republic, people who fought tooth and nail to make sure that his principles are obliterated through the scrapping of 31st December as a holiday and June 4 as a holiday and at every celebration of the June 4 including the very last one, we are vilified and insulted and threatened court action to force NDC to delete June 4 worth celebrating, are the guys who are pretending to be weeping more than the bereaved.
Mr Rawlings died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Thursday November 12, 2020 after suffering a short illness.
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana