SUV-Gate Whistleblower MP Banned From Speaking In Iran’s Parliament
The lawmaker who recently revealed bribery involving a former minister and 70 lawmakers in Iran says he has been banned from speaking in parliament.
The lawmaker who recently revealed bribery involving a former minister and 70 lawmakers in Iran says he has been banned from speaking in parliament.
Ahmad Alirezabeigi told Sharq daily on Monday that the ban imposed on him is illegal and the parliament has not informed him in this regard.
Alirezabeigi revealed in late April that over seventy SUVs were offered to lawmakers at a lower price by the ministry of industry ahead of lawmakers’ discussions of a motion in December last year to impeach former minister of industry, Reza Fatemi-Amin.
The minister was accused by at least 40 members of parliament of “inadequate performance” including failure to control rising prices for domestically produced vehicles, their low quality, preventing competitive imports, and corruption in the industry.
More than 200 members of parliament have sent text messages to the public or told the media that they were never involved in the scheme and did not benefit from it.
The media published a list of others who have not denied receiving the SUVs. These include both supporters of Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and hardliner Paydari Front lawmakers.
The whistleblower MP was indicted for “making a claim without evidence” in May but claims the parliament and its presiding board have violated the law.
He claims to have sent a letter to the judiciary regarding the issue of the SUVs and the authorities told him a "committee from the Prosecutor General's Office" will be appointed to deal with the issue.
Jahanabadi told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) that the ruling faction has created a social and political impasse that has even led to the isolation of some regime insiders, in addition to ostracizing reformists and moderates.
He said as a result of this political impasse, the government has no channels of communication with many social groups, including women and minorities.
Jahanabadi added: "The government has alienated all those who used to run in elections and bring some 80 percent of the population to the polls and win up to 20 million votes," adding that "the insiders who are allowed to run for the parliament can win between 10 to 15 percent of the votes."
Jahanabadi further called on the government to bring all those who have been alienated back to the political arena through national reconciliation that should also include the release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
Speaking on the country's dire economic situation, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani who is a part of the ruling hardliner faction said that during the two years Ebrahim Raisi has been president home prices have risen by 70 percent in the capital Tehran.
He added that 48 percent of those living in Tehran and 41 percent of Karaj residents near Tehran are tenants. Zakani also said that renting an apartment has become a dream for those who live on regular wages. Buying a home has turned into an impossible dream.
Zakani said that 2.3 million apartments were built in Iran under the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005 – 2013). Nonetheless with an annual inflation rate of 25 percent house prices rose by 4.7-fold. He added that under President Hassan Rouhani with an annual inflation rate of 33 percent, house prices rose by 8.7-fold.
The main reason for inflation in the housing market has been the Iranian currency’s steady decline in the past 44 years since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. In 1978, one US dollar bought 70 rials, while in the past few months the dollar has reached 500,000 rials.
Accordingly, real estate has climbed, not in real terms, but in par with dollar’s rate.
Meanwhile, in an article in Etemad Online, former Government spokesman Ali Rabiei called on politicians in all political factions to support any move by the government that would return Iran to the international community.
He said: "Iran has distanced itself from the world."
Many Iranians, however, believe that it is the international community that has isolated the Islamic Republic for its controversial nuclear program, developing ballistic missiles, destabilizing the region through its proxy groups and financing terrorism abroad.
Meanwhile, Rabiei advised Iran's hardliners to avoid abusing ideology and taking advantage of the people's religious beliefs as these have been the reason for complaints by other countries against Iran.
In another development, centrist politician Gholamhossein Karbaschi pointed out in an interview with Ham Mihan newspaper, which was also carried by Khabar Online website that a big problem in Iran is that "As soon as President Raisi issues an order, others in his government carry out exactly the opposite."
As an example, he said: "When Raisi calls for a reduction in prices, the day after prices begin to rise and this disappoints the people." Karbaschi added: "This will not happen if Raisi questions his men about their decisions when they go wrong." He stressed: "People can trust the government only when they see that officials stand by their promises."
