“We do not intend to disrupt sessions through boycott. We want to continue talks with members.
“The public understands what we are doing is not wrong and is within our rights,” Shaikh Ali, the leader of Al Wefaq in the Chamber of Deputies told the Press yesterday.
Referring to the curtailment of the right, he said they wanted to ensure that new deputies elected in 2010 had more rights.
Shaikh Ali made it clear that questioning the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Shaikh Ahmed bin Attiyattallah Al Khalifa, topped their agenda. The bloc has sent a letter to His Majesty the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on the stalemate.
“We want to open the eyes of the authorities that what they are doing is wrong. There is no choice but to stick to our stand to question Shaikh Ahmed,” he told the Tribune after the Press briefing.
Al Wefaq walked out of the Chamber of Deputies sessions for three weeks in a row. The 17-member bloc is adamant on questioning Shaikh Ahmed for alleged financial irregularities, including discrepancies in employment in Civil Service Bureau, the issue of hiding from the public the fact that Bahrain population had crossed one million.
“A rule set by the authorities states that a person with a case pending in court cannot be questioned in the House and whatever issues previous MPs have discussed cannot be raised by their successors. We consider it unconstitutional,” Shaikh Ali said.
Al Wefaq chief said the debates and walkouts were not because of Shaikh Ahmed only. “They are also about our right as lawmakers to question ministers.”
Al Wefaq chief also raised the issue of a former government official’s private farm in Karzakan vandalised by unruly youth last week.
Deputy Jawad Fairooz, who heads the investigation committee to quiz the minister, said, “Boycotting some sessions is not as important as losing the right as a lawmaker to question Shaikh Ahmed. An open discussion in the House is the only way out.”
The bloc is also furious that the Speaker’s office did not include the questioning of the minister in the weekly session agenda. Legal consultant Amroo Barakat’s resignation at this juncture has complicated the issue.
Shaikh Ali said they were upset that the Speaker’s office accepted the resignation and pointed out that the office had allowed other blocs to question the Minister of Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs, Mansoor Hassan Bin Rajab, on alleged financial irregularities.
On the feud with other blocs, Fairooz said their views were politically motivated but they had the right to express views.
