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In a week of mount­ing crit­i­cism at home and abroad, Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar told Hin­du devo­tees that one must have “bel­ly” to stand against in­jus­tice.

Speak­ing Fri­day night at the Ganesh Ut­sav Foun­da­tion Mandir in Ota­heite, Per­sad-Bisses­sar likened her re­silience to the chal­lenges faced by Lord Ganesh. She said Pun­dit Sunil See­ta­hal Ma­haraj’s night­ly dis­cours­es re­mind­ed her of a Katha where Ganesh en­dured ridicule for his ap­pear­ance.

“He was ridiculed for his man­ner­isms. He was ridiculed for his large stom­ach. In Trinidad, we use the word bel­ly. I know what that feels like, but I, too, know you must have ‘bel­ly’ to fight dis­crim­i­na­tion, in­jus­tice, and wrong­do­ing. And so, Lord Ganesh leads the way for us,” Per­sad-Bisses­sar said.