"Rowley the bully".

This was the shout of the crowd at yesterday's People's Partnership Pre-Budget Rally at the car park of Mid-Centre Mall, Chaguanas.

UNC chairman Jack Warner led the cry.

Warner criticised the "wastage" wrought by the People's National Movement (PNM) when that party was in government.

The jewel in the crown for Warner's presentation, however, came in the form of a video clip showing Opposition members voting "yes" to the Administration of Justice Act in Parliament.

Section 34 of the act was proclaimed in August and later repealed.

Warner pleased the crowd by calling on the video operator to re-run the portion of the tape that showed Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley voting "yes".

The crowd went wild for these antics, "hooraying" Warner's comment that the Opposition was attempting to deceive the country into believing it did not support the act.

Warner went on to hug Attorney General Anand Ramlogan onstage, warning Rowley, who has called for the AG's resignation based on the Section 34 controversy, that "when he touch one he touch all".

Ramlogan himself interjected, "We not going nowhere!"

Warner went on to list the People's Partnership's achievements, among them successful negotiations with various unions and he emphasised that there had been no murders in Laventille for the past 20 days.

Warner also knocked Fixin' tnt head Kirk Waithe, whom he called a "political dreamer".

A warning of shades of 1990 came from TOP leader Ashworth Jack yesterday, as he addressed the pre-budget rally.

Jack said the recent show of support by unions for the Opposition PNM at an anti-government march led by Rowley was a scene reminiscent of the run-up to the attempted coup that year.

"I am seeing signs of 1990," Jack said.

He added that the PNM was using the ongoing Section 34 debacle to rouse the population.

Jack also issued a call to the PNM to face off in the Tobago House of Assembly as he echoed a recent challenge issued by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Rowley to call THA elections now. 

Jack received an enthusiastic welcome as he took the stage after Congress of the People leader Prakash Ramadhar at yesterday's pre-budget rally.