Ketan Lal Accused of ‘Desperate Attention-Seeking’ by Government Minister

Minister of Fisheries and Forestry, Hon. Alitia Bainivalu MP, has launched a scathing attack on Opposition MP Ketan Lal MP, accusing him of using Fiji’s traditional institutions as a stage for political attention-seeking and insecurity masked as principle.

Her fiery response came after Lal made a Facebook post criticising the revival of the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC), questioning its relevance and warning it must serve all Fijians, not just a “select group.”

Bainivalu did not hold back.

“Hon. Ketan’s latest rant isn’t surprising. It’s consistent — consistently disrespectful, shallow, and loud,” she said. “He talks about justice and unity while belittling an institution that has stood the test of time, coups, and political upheaval. But of course, his politics were born yesterday and fed by bitterness, not nation-building.”

She accused Lal of being disconnected from the “soul of this country,” which she described as rooted in vanua, lotu, and matanitu — concepts she said Lal clearly does not understand.

“You don’t get to mock our traditional institutions and then pretend to offer advice to them. That’s not bravery — that’s desperation. Desperation for relevance. Desperation for attention. And a glaring inability to lead without tearing others down.”

In his speech, Lal had challenged the newly re-established GCC to act as a body of national unity rather than clinging to what he described as symbolic nostalgia. He emphasized his respect for tradition but reaffirmed his belief in the 2013 Constitution as the supreme law and framework for equality.

“The GCC must not become a monument of nostalgia,” Lal said. “It must become a space where the voices of all Fijians are respected.”

Bainivalu dismissed this as hollow rhetoric.

“He hides behind the Constitution when it suits him but mocks the very traditions that helped Fiji survive its darkest days,” she said. “Mocking tradition is not leadership. It’s weakness pretending to be boldness.”

In a stinging conclusion, Bainivalu told Lal to “do something worth remembering,” stating that the GCC would not be moved by “one man’s insecurity” or “keyboard controversy.”