He once stood so tall and earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues and constituents. One can safely say that the weight of his contribution to the MSM's victory in the 2014 election is not negligible.
Sadly, the image built over the years of a respected and competent lawyer and principled man who, in a previous life chose to resign at the whiff of a scandal, has thawed like ice in the warmth of the mid-afternoon sun. The sight of Ivan Collendavelloo today is pitiful. He embarrassedly grins at members of his party who refuse to accept the humiliation he has accepted for himself and encourages them to land a hand to make of May Day a success for the man who humiliated him. No answer as to why he continues to accept to be belittled without blinking.
Granted that the St Louis Gate that came to light through the African Development Bank is one of the biggest acts of corruption that broke out under this government. Revoking Collendavelloo as a result seemed then, as it does now, fair and logical, particularly that the press kept the pressure on. So from deputy prime minister, Collendavelloo found himself as a simple backbencher overnight. He first protested against this 'injustice' in a low voice; low enough not to antagonise his boss, Pravind Jugnauth. Then he obediently sat on the backbenches obsequiously supporting the man who demolished his career and crushed his ego.
He never questioned the time the Independent Commission Against Corruption was taking to conclude the case. Nah, that won't do. He never showed any haste in wanting to 'clear his name'. He never whispered a word against the ICAC. And the ICAC returned the favour by never bothering him. Dozens of people had to brave press photographers and journalists to go and parade before the ICAC. Collendavelloo, the main alleged actor, was safe on his backbench.
But then l'express lifted the lid off yet another scandal: the eat-and-drink-with-the-drug-dealers party and the ensuing state land granted to them - against an alleged payment of a bribe - so the drug business continues to flourish in all discretion. This is an arguably much bigger corruption scandal that broke several of our laws. Two protagonists - Maneesh Gobin and Rajanah Dhaliah - made him look like a small-time delinquent in comparison. Both men are still holding on to their positions, one as minister and the other as Private Parliamentary Secretary with the hefty salaries that go with that. The whole nation is outraged. Collendavelloo's own supporters are up in arms at what they see as an unequal treatment. They want to withdraw their support to the MSM on May Day to show a minimum of dignity. The former deputy prime minister, on the other hand, has not broken his vow of silence! Worse, he is trying very hard to calm them down so they don't cause any trouble. This level of sycophancy and servility has hardly been seen before.
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What a contrast with Former Minister of Finance Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo. Though he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar and had the whole KGB after him, he wriggled his way out of it all by uttering two sentences in public: "I am the cleanest man in this government" and "I am not the one who has bank accounts in Hong Kong". He was immediately given another ministry where he sat doing nothing and criticising the government from within. Then he chose to leave at a moment that caused the government maximum damage. He has been living happily ever after.
Naturally, not everyone can earn the nickname "razoir" (razor). But then again, not everyone is prepared to accept the nickname our history books have likely reserved for Collendavelloo - the short man who once stood so tall.
Touria Prayag's second book: #BLD: When Mauritius Lost its Bedside Manners is available at Librairie Le Cygne and all the Bookcourt outlets.
