Ahmadinejad taken to task in parliament
Source: Agencies |
March 15, 2012, Thursday
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IRAN'S parliament grilled President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday over a long list of accusations, including that he mismanaged the nation's economy and defied the authority of the country's supreme leader.
Ahmadinejad is the first president in the country's history to be hauled before the Iranian parliament.
Iran's constitution gives parliament the legal right to question the president, but the body had never before taken a step that undermined Ahmadinejad's prestige and could set the stage for his subsequent impeachment should lawmakers determine his answers were unsatisfactory.
Ahmadinejad sniped back defiantly at his questioners.
Conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari, a prominent opponent of the president, read out a series of 10 questions to Ahmadinejad in an open session of parliament broadcast live on state radio.
Some of the most hard-hitting focused on Ahmadinejad's alleged defiance of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, over the choice of intelligence chief.
Ahmadinejad resisted for 11 days an order from Khamenei to reinstate intelligence minister Heidar Moslehi, who had been sacked by the president in April last year. Ahmadinejad flatly denied that he challenged Khamenei.
The president, who appeared in parliament accompanied by eight senior Cabinet members, was also asked about a dramatic hike in prices and his failure to provide a budget to Tehran's subway system.
He was accused of speeding up implementation of an austerity plan to slash energy and food subsidies, raising prices for the middle class and the poor.
Ahmadinejad claimed his government has provided more money to municipalities than previous governments, and said price hikes has nothing to do with slashing subsidies.
Ahmadinejad's closing words caused some of the largest uproar.
"It was not a very difficult quiz," he said of the questioners. "To me, those who designed the questions were from among those who got a master's degree by just pushing a button. If you had consulted us, better questions could have been drawn up," he said.
The president said he must be given a top score on the "quiz."
"Be fair. Give a good grade. Any grade of less than 20 (perfect) will be rude," he said.
Ahmadinejad is the first president in the country's history to be hauled before the Iranian parliament.
Iran's constitution gives parliament the legal right to question the president, but the body had never before taken a step that undermined Ahmadinejad's prestige and could set the stage for his subsequent impeachment should lawmakers determine his answers were unsatisfactory.
Ahmadinejad sniped back defiantly at his questioners.
Conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari, a prominent opponent of the president, read out a series of 10 questions to Ahmadinejad in an open session of parliament broadcast live on state radio.
Some of the most hard-hitting focused on Ahmadinejad's alleged defiance of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, over the choice of intelligence chief.
Ahmadinejad resisted for 11 days an order from Khamenei to reinstate intelligence minister Heidar Moslehi, who had been sacked by the president in April last year. Ahmadinejad flatly denied that he challenged Khamenei.
The president, who appeared in parliament accompanied by eight senior Cabinet members, was also asked about a dramatic hike in prices and his failure to provide a budget to Tehran's subway system.
He was accused of speeding up implementation of an austerity plan to slash energy and food subsidies, raising prices for the middle class and the poor.
Ahmadinejad claimed his government has provided more money to municipalities than previous governments, and said price hikes has nothing to do with slashing subsidies.
Ahmadinejad's closing words caused some of the largest uproar.
"It was not a very difficult quiz," he said of the questioners. "To me, those who designed the questions were from among those who got a master's degree by just pushing a button. If you had consulted us, better questions could have been drawn up," he said.
The president said he must be given a top score on the "quiz."
"Be fair. Give a good grade. Any grade of less than 20 (perfect) will be rude," he said.
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