Princes Town MP, Barry Padarath

Princes Town MP Barry Padarath says he will not be intimidated into silence in the parliament.

The new MP has been the butt of jokes and snickers in the parliament during the ongoing debate on the 2015-2016 budget.

The Express newspaper today quotes Mr. Padarath as responding to what is now a social media issue out of a social media storm that stemmed from a remark made by Sport Minister Darryl Smith and comments later, on a Facebook page attributed to Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

Minister Imbert has denied he posted the offensive comments. He says his account was hacked and he has now deleted it.

Mr. Padarath had just finished speaking last Saturday and Minister Smith rose to contribute, saying it was always good to have some comic relief, in reference to the Princes Town MP’s speech.

Mr. Smith also addressed mr. Padarath, saying what sounded like “princess” twice, before saying “princes town member of parliament”.

MP Padarath is not fazed by the insinuations.

Facebook was flooded that evening with users expressing disgust over Mr. Smith’s comment and over the comments that Mr. Imbert later said were not his.