Members of the Islamic Constitutional Movement, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, accused Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohamed al-Ahmad al-Sabah of mismanagement, breach of the constitution and failure to adopt a prudent economic policy.
On Sunday, Islamist MP Faisal al-Muslim had also filed a motion to question Sheikh Nasser on claims of misuse of public funds by the staff of his office.
It is the first time any Kuwaiti prime minister has faced two separate interrogation motions and the moves could trigger a new political crisis and a possible dissolution of parliament.
Parliament Speaker Jassem al-Khorafi said the two requests will be debated in parliament on March 17.
The three Islamist lawmakers accuse the government of being hesitant in taking important decisions, thus hindering mega projects and development of the oil-rich Gulf state.
“The purpose of the grilling is to rescue the country from a phase of indecision and hesitation,” MP Abdulaziz al-Shayeji said.
“The government has approved several projects and then backed down under political pressure… people in the country have lost confidence in the executive authority,” MP Jamaan al-Harbash said.
MP Nasser al-Sane said the government has failed to adopt a sound economic and financial policy, especially in dealing efficiently with the huge windfall from oil revenues in the past few years.
The Islamic Constitutional Movement was represented in the previous cabinet by former oil minister Mohamed al-Olaim. It however decided not to take part in the current government.
In May 2006, a request to quiz the prime minister led to the dissolution of parliament and fresh elections and a second such motion in November caused the cabinet to resign.
“There are two solutions to the crisis,” Liberal MP Ahmad al-Mulaifi, who in the past threatened to quiz the prime minister, told reporters.
“Either the prime minister accepts to be questioned in parliament or he should resign and a new prime minister should be appointed.”
Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir, has been under constant political pressure ever since he became premier in February 2006.
He has already formed five cabinets, the most recent in January. His four previous cabinets resigned after disputes with parliament, the latest in November when three Islamist MPs applied to question Sheikh Nasser over allegations of mismanagement and allowing a banned Iranian Shia cleric to enter Kuwait.
The premier still faces the possibility of a third grilling by the opposition Popular Action Bloc over a government-sponsored stimulus plan, which the group alleges squanders public funds.
Under the constitution, only the emir can dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections within 60 days.
Kuwait was the first Arab state in the Gulf to have a parliament in 1962 but it has been suspended twice for a total of 11 years because of crises.
