Mansoor Hassan Bin Rajab was reacting to demands by Al Asala bloc that he should resign from the cabinet following the voting in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday, which threw out the ‘not guilty’ verdict of the committee.
“For me, the decision of the committee is all important since it was set up by the parliament with all the members’ consent, and not imposed on the House,” he told Bahrain Tribune.
Questioning the propriety of Al Asala’s demand for his resignation, Bin Rajab shot back: “Why should I bow down to their demand when I have been appointed by the Kingdom’s leadership and not by parliament? I will continue to discharge my duties to the best of abilities till I lose the trust of the leadership.”
Asked if the Chamber of Deputies was right in voting against the findings of the parliamentary committee, he said: “One has to understand that the committee was constituted by parliament, and their finding were placed before the House. Under Article 149 of the Constitution, the House should have discussed the committee report before taking up voting on it. And if the members did have some doubts, it should be referred back to the committee, besides seeking clarifications from me. I have always said I am willing to be questioned on the charges, and I would have willingly done it again. Only after this entire process is gone through can the committee’s report be put to vote on the floors of the House.”
The minister also pointed out that a substantial number of Deputies were not present when the voting was taken up since they had staged a walkout earlier.
