ICM member MP Dr Jamaan Al-Harbash said the movement’s is not a political game, adding ICM has no intention to succumb to pressures or cancel its plan.
Admitting some ICM members are against the grilling, Al-Harbash explained “we decided to press ahead with our plan to question the premier without hearing the opinions of both sides due to the government’s decision to approve a KD 7.5 billion deal with Dow Chemical, only to cancel it later.
Al-Harbash stressed the movement will question the premier to clarify controversies surrounding the deal, not to cancel an Amiri decree or any project. “We are not looking for a hero or trying to aggravate the situation but we want facts and direct answers from the prime minister regarding this issue,” he asserted.
On a related development, MP Dr Daifallah Bouramiya has rejected attempts to pull out supervisory tools from the Parliament, indicating that grilling is a right guaranteed by the Constitution for all MPs.
Astonished at the premier’s constant refusal to stand on the grilling podium, Bouramiya said Sheikh Nasser has taken the country from one crisis to the other, adding the premier’s attitude towards the previous grilling requests has given MPs’ an impression that the prime minister “is afraid to face something that might surface in the grilling.” Bouramiya claimed threats to dissolve the Parliament are mainly aimed at “removing the claws of the National Assembly and cutting the fingers of MPs.”
Moreover, MP Dr Mohammed Hussein Al-Kandari pointed out it is not fair for some MPs to accuse their colleagues of defending the government for personal gains or being afraid of the dissolution of Parliament because they have a different opinion about ICM’s plan to grill the premier.
He said MPs are required to play their supervisory role but they should not accuse any MP, who is against the grilling, of defying the Constitution. He added MPs can support or reject the grilling request, according to its contents, timing, motives and the consequences of such moves.
“Political stability is not a slogan chanted by candidates during elections, but it is a stand that MPs should follow. The Islamic Salafi Group is united in preventing a political crisis to create a suitable and stable political atmosphere through which we can practice our legislative role towards development issues like the economy, health, education, housing, unemployment, and Bedouns issue,” Al-Kandari opined.
Meanwhile, parliamentary sources said a number of MPs are also planning to submit grilling requests against Sheikh Nasser on several issues, including the deteriorating public services. Sources added the ICM will submit its request to grill the PM before the National and Liberation Days’ celebrations.
