Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was accused of bullying members of parliament as MP Reza Karami said that no one dares exercise the legal right to question the president although many agree it is necessary.
Iranian lawmaker, Reza Karami told Khabar on-line: “There are various legal ways to force the government to carry out the laws passed by the parliament such as questioning the president or impeachment; however we do not dare use these provisions.”
He claimed currently Ali Motahari, an MP who has only proposed questioning the president “is being grilled. Let alone if we really want to put such a proposal into action.”
He added that several MPs are in agreement with the need to question the president; however, they will not sign the petition because they feel threatened.
He said for example they have repeatedly warned Ahmadinejad that he must pay out the budget for Tehran subway system, but he has refused to carry out this legislation.
According to regulations, a petition to call the president for questioning in the parliament requires the signatures of 74 MPs. Ali Motahari, a conservative MP who has been very critical of Ahmadinejad’s administration, announced last month that he has gathered enough signatures to call the president for questioning.
Motahari claimed they intend to question Ahmadinejad regarding his recent depreciative comments regarding the place of the parliament in the Islamic Republic’s power structure, the government’s failure to carry out a number of approved laws, their neglect of the society’s cultural matters, and a number of other issues.
Ali Motahari has been criticized by Ahmadinejad supporters in the parliament for proposing the questioning but the Speaker of the House, Ali Larijani has emphasized that the MPs have a legal right to demand accountability from the president.
