National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad has labelled the Privilege Committee report tabled in Parliament today as hogwash.

Prasad claims the report is designed to put an end to Police investigation into the alleged assault and get the police off the case.

He says for the 56-year-old National Federation Party which has survived and emerged unscratched in terms of maintaining its principles, ethics, without for once shirking our fight for equality, dignity and justice for all our ordinary citizens, today is a day of shame for the highest court of the land that for a very long time, will not become a thing of the past.

Prasad says this is due to this motion asking them to give our seal of approval or otherwise to untruth over truth, injustice over justice and tear to shreds the virtue of righteousness – the most important cornerstone of any democracy.

He adds the report is suggestive that Tikoduadua be a metaphorical ‘sacrificial lamb’

“Parliament has made Honourable Tikoduadua or is proposing to make Tikoduadua a sacrificial lamb with the Privileges Committee requiring him to apologize to the Prime Minister or face six months suspension from the Parliament”

Prasad maintains his stance that Tikoduadua did not make any personal attack at the Prime Minister and his comment was targeted at the Fiji First Government and not the PM’s family.

The NFP leader maintaining that Tikoduadua is being treated like the instigator of the alleged altercation between the two and is being punished for making a pointed attack at the PM’s family – something that Tikoduadua never did.

“One wonders why was honourable Tikoduadua referred to the privileges committee in the first place – was it to balance the scales for the PM’s assault? This is a legitimate question that I ask on behalf of thousands of our supporters. Now he is asked to apologise for saying own House – in reference to accusations hurled from the Government on this side of the House or the Opposition responsible for many things. We are sure honourable Tikoduadua explained this to the committee – but we perfectly well understand the committee’s modus operandi.” 

Prasad claims from its line of questioning – especially of him – he could clearly see how desperate the government members on the committee were to exonerate their boss – the PM – of any wrong-doing.

“Here a person is being asked to apologise for something that he did not say, nor mean nor think about – except one or two MPs on Government benches by asking  the PM to look at his own House – also with capital “H” as shown in Hansard and correlated with video footage that I hope the Committee looked at because he gestured towards the Government side. It couldn’t have been clear than this.”

Prasad says the best remedy for justice to prevail or even being seen to prevail in the interest of democracy and permanent viability of our law and order is to withdraw the report and let the rule of law take its course.