OPPOSITION and government MPs engaged in a tit-for-tat for four hours over questions by the former to the latter about the National Recruitment Drive, vacancies at the Social Development Ministry, their respective political histories and the personalities of respective government and opposition MPs.

This scenario played out during a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee in the House of Representatives on October 21, before the committee approved a budgetary allocation of $6,012,215,208 for the ministry.

Government and opposition MPs often traded barbs with each other while Speaker Jagdeo Singh appealed to both sides for order.