The Minister of Science and Technology has stood firm in his decisions against the wishes of a number of his critics in Iranian Parliament and the MPs are now reconsidering his impeachment.
A meeting was held between Science Minister Reza Faraji-dana and his critics in Parliament on Saturday August 9, and according to the Sharvand daily, Faraji-dana refused to retreat from his decisions, leaving the MPs with their own decision to make today on whether or not to revert to their plan to impeach the minister.
The MPs’ chief demand was reportedly the re-expulsion of students who had been marked for their political activity under the former administration and banned from continuing their education. They also have called for the expulsion of people involved in the 2009 protests which the MPs refer to as the “sedition of 2009.”
Since the Rohani administration took power, in line with its policies of moderation, the Minister of Science has allowed a number of students and faculty members who had been expelled during the recent years of political cleansing of the higher education institutions, to return to the universities. This has angered the right-wing factions of the government, who have been calling for his impeachment.
