Addressing the media at Al Wefaq headquarters in Zinj, he alleged: “There is a hidden agenda between the Government and Shura Council that the Parliament is not aware of. The Government is interfering in the functioning of the parliament and is influencing the Shura Council to pass laws that benefit them.”
Shaikh Ali claimed that though they had established good relations with the other blocs in the House, they were not happy with the functioning. “I am not happy in parliament, but I have to stick to the society’s decision. The way the blocs work and the Chairman’s decision are not what we had expected.”
The Deputy also expressed his unhappiness over the lack of consultants in the parliament who could advise them on various matters.
Citing the example of Mina Salman and the upcoming Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Port decisions that were passed without any financial objectives, Shaikh Ali said that some of the MP’s are not bothered about public money and do not present a clear picture to the citizens to whom they are accountable.
Eighteen MP’s including Aziz Abul had accused the Government of issuing the decree when the parliament was not in session.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Khalil Marzooq who said: “The reasons given to us by the Government are unacceptable. Take the case of the Bahrain-Qatar Causeway which requires BD3 to BD4 million in funds. Bahrain has to borrow half of this amount which is more than its capacity and is a burden. There was no proper planning of the project. How can such a project be passed without studying its implications?”
Speaking on the issue of naturalisation, Marzooq, who is also the head of the legislative and legal affairs committee in parliament, said: “This is an alarming situation as many individuals are getting naturalised by the Government. They are eating the bread of the locals and are further eating away into services like education, schools, houses among others. This affects the demographic balance of the country considering that the resources are limited in Bahrain. We are not against naturalisation, but the authorities ought to follow certain criteria.”
