Ali Motahari, Iranian conservative MP challenged the latest statements of Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, chairman of Iran’s Guardian Council, against the parliament and urged the hardliner to refrain from “belittling and weakening” the parliament.
In last week’s Friday Mass sermon, Ahamd Jannati, one of Iran’s top hardline clerics, rebuked the parliament for widespread impeachment of ministers.
He maintained the ministers are heavily burdened by the responsibilities of carrying out the government’s recent overhaul of state subsidies and their time should not be taken by parliamentary questionings.
In recent weeks, there has been talk of impeachment of Interior and Commerce Ministers by the parliament.
In the past year, proposals to impeach six other ministers of the tenth government have been discussed but never reached the point of execution.
Iranian conservative MP, Ali Motahari writes in his website that “violations committed by ministers” are the cause of the increase in impeachments.
He asks: “For example when the Minister of Economy refuses to carry out the legislation regarding financial facilities for Tehran subway system and the president says I do not consider this a law and will not execute it, is it not the responsibility of representatives to defend people’s rights and to question the minister and the president?”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has refused to give the two billion dollars that the parliament has approved for developing subway facilities. The disputes over this legislation between the Guardian Council and the parliament were resolved by the Expediency Council which also approved the budget but Ahmadinejad still refuses to pay out the amount for subway development.
Motahari finally reminds Jannati that “a strong parliament is to the advantage of the whole system and a strong obstacle against the tendency toward despotism.”
