Barrak however said there should be no crisis in the country because MPs exercise their constitutional powers as all measures taken within the framework of the constitution should be seen as very normal. Asked if the bloc is still determined to grill the oil minister, Barrak said, "We have expressed our view before the prime minister" and the next step will be known in the next few days. He did not elaborate.
Barrak denied that his bloc has been responsible for political tension in the country because of targeting the minister, adding that any measure they intend to take will be within the constitution. The Popular Bloc, headed by veteran MP Ahamd Al-Saadoun, has threatened to grill the oil minister if he did not resign for describing former oil minister Sheikh Ali Al-Khalifa Al-Sabah as his master.
Bloc members on Sunday met the prime minister and pressed for the oil minister’s resignation. The minister has refused to make any comment on the issue. Barrak charged that there is a "hidden agenda" behind what happened in the Assembly session on May 15 when MPs traded harsh insults and chaotic scenes forced the speaker to cut the session short. He said those who were behind the chaos did not want important recommendations to be issued regarding embezzlements of public funds.
Barrak blamed the government for the current debate on embezzlements, saying those accused of graft are present out there but the government failed to apply the law against them. He also denied that the Popular Bloc is personally targeting the oil minister, saying there are events that will be exposed to show the minister’s role in the graft case. Meanwhile, the public funds protection committee decided yesterday to ask every concerned minister to provide the Assembly with a list of graft cases that have been referred to public prosecution.
