In­de­pen­dent Sen­a­tor An­tho­ny Vieira says on­line ha­rass­ment and un­fair at­tacks on the In­de­pen­dent Bench took a toll on the health of fel­low In­de­pen­dent Sen­a­tor and Na­tion­al Coun­cil of In­di­an Cul­ture (NCIC) pres­i­dent De­oroop Teemal, who died at his St Au­gus­tine home ear­ly yes­ter­day morn­ing.

In a trib­ute, Vieira de­scribed Teemal as a mod­el In­de­pen­dent Sen­a­tor.

“His con­tri­bu­tions were con­sis­tent­ly sub­stan­tive, well-rea­soned, and en­tire­ly free from par­ti­san pos­tur­ing. He fo­cused on sound gov­er­nance, bet­ter laws, and a more just so­ci­ety,” Vieira said.