Kamla falls ill in New York City

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar fell ill in New York, and was unable to speak at the India Day parade where she was invited as the guest of honour Sunday.Press Secretary Garvin Nicholas, who is also in New York, told the Express by phone that Persad-Bissessar was under the weather and visited the doctor to ensure that her coughing was not attributed to a serious ailment.Although she was not feeling well, Persad-Bissessar did make the effort to attend the parade which took place in Madison Avenue, New York, and walked alongside the Grand Marshal, Bollywood superstar Preity Zinta.Nicholas said Persad-Bissessar skipped the evening’s events following the parade and rested.He also said the Prime Minister would return, as scheduled, on Sunday. “She was extremely well received. Thousands of people lined Madison Avenue. There was a Trinidad and Tobago float in the parade. For the first time people who live in New York are really pleased to interact with their Prime Minister,” said Nicholas.Persad-Bissessar will go ahead as planned with meetings scheduled this week.“She still has a number of things to do this week. A number of business meetings. There are a lot of people who are interested in investing in Trinidad and Tobago; she will be meeting with various groups this week” Nicholas said.Commenting on criticisms of Persad-Bissessar’s trip, he said: “There will obviously be people in Trinidad and Tobago who would look for any opportunity to criticise the Prime Minister. There is very little she has done wrong to date.” (Trinidad Express)