MPs question Ahmadinejad, not convinced with answers

TEHRAN, March 14 (MNA) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared before the parliament on Wednesday to answer MPs’ questions about a number of the administration’s irregularities.

It was the first time in the history of Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979 that a president was summoned to the Majlis.

MP Ali Motahhari read out the questions.

The first question was about the administration’s refusal to implement the parliamentary ratification calling for withdrawing $2 billion from the National Development Fund for development of metro in Tehran and other big cities.

In reply to the question, Ahmadinejad said that “no money is left” in the fund to finance metro projects.

The second question was about the administration’s announcement that 1,600,000 jobs were created in the Iranian calendar year 1389, which started on March 21, 2010 and ended on March 20, 2010.

The president said that such a thing was possible given the country’s economic growth.

The third question was about the administration’s failure to provide the production sector with a share of the revenues generated from the gradual elimination of subsidies.

In response to the question, Ahmadinejad stated that economic sanctions on the country and the global economic crisis had put certain restrictions on the administration.

However, the president said, the administration has made the utmost efforts to support the production sector.

He also stated that the implementation of the subsidy reform plan is not the reason behind the rise in the prices of goods.

The fourth question was about the fact that Ahmadinejad avoided public appearance after Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi’s resignation in late April 2011, which was accepted by the president but was rejected by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Ahmadinejad did not accept the accusations leveled at him in this regard, saying that he has made every effort to support the principle of velayat-e faqih (rule of the supreme jurisprudent).

The fifth question was about his assertion that the Majlis is not on top of affairs, in reply to which Ahmadinejad said that he had his own reasons for making such a statement and said that his right to make comments on various issues should be acknowledged.

On the sixth question about his delay in nominating sports and youth minister, Ahmadinejad noted that the insistence on immediate nomination of a minister was not acceptable.

The seventh question was about the fact that he dismissed former foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki while he was on a tour of Senegal in December 2010.

Ahmadinejad replied to the question, saying that dismissing members of the cabinet falls within the ambit of the president and his authority cannot be put into question.

The last question was about his support of Presidential Office Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaii who had proposed that Iran promote the Iranian school of thought instead of the Islamic school of thought.

In reply to the question, the president said that Iran is a great country and providing services to the country and its people does not mean straying from the right path.

Some questions were not asked by Motahhari due to time constraints.

However, a number of MPs, including Ali Larijani, Nader Qazipour, Ali Reza Mahjoub, Hamid Rasaii, and Mohammad Reza Khabbaz, Javad Jahangirzade, and Mostafa Kavakebian, were not satisfied with the answers provided by the president.

Some other MPs described the way the president answered the question as insulting and promised to issue a statement in response.

EP/PA
END
MNA