While it was a matter of discussion during the meetings that the deputies took pictures over the phone, opposition deputies criticized the budget over ‘interest’. Republican People’s Party (CHP) Konya Deputy Abdüllatif Şener said that the government was not only the most usurious government of the Republican era, but also the most interest-seeking government in Turkish history, including the Ottoman Empire.
The budget marathon in the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) has started. The Commission held discussions on the Central Government Budget Law Proposal for 2023 and the Central Government Final Accounts Law Proposal for 2021 in general, as well as the reports of the Court of Accounts. In the commission, Vice President Fuat Oktay made a budget presentation on behalf of the government and responded to the opposition's criticism.
CHP deputies participated in the talks with banners written as ‘The budget that allocates 565 billion to the interest, 54 billion to the farmer’, ‘The budget that transfers the tax of the citizens to the KKM’, ‘The budget that works for the interest lobby’, ‘The budget that ameliorates the rich and ruins the workers’.
CAMERA SHOOTING CAUSES DISCUSSIONS
During the meeting, it was also a matter of discussion that the deputies took pictures over the phone. In the meeting room, where journalists were filming with cameras, opposition MPs expressed their objections to the talks in terms of procedure, while Commission Chairman Cevdet Yılmaz said that the MPs made long speeches when they saw the cameras, and therefore the meetings were delayed. Yılmaz stopped the shooting of the cameras by taking a break for 5 minutes after the speeches were prolonged. In the negotiations that started later, this time the discussion about the deputies shooting from their mobile phones started.
“WHAT DO WE HAVE TO ABSTAIN”
Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmakers objected to the opposition filming the interviews with their mobile phones. Chairman Yılmaz also said that deputies can only record their own speeches on their mobile phones, and that he will not allow them to film other deputies and Fuat Oktay. Opposition deputies objected to President Yılmaz and said, “What do you have to be afraid of, you do not allow it. We are discussing the people's budget, shouldn't the public know?”
“INTEREST PAYMENTS ON DOMESTIC DEBT EXCEEDED THE PRINCIPAL”
CHP Konya Deputy Abdüllatif Şener said that the government was not only the most usurious government of the Republican era, but also the most interest-seeking government in Turkish history, including the Ottoman Empire. Stating that the interest payments have never exceeded the principal, Şener said, “For the first time in this government period, the domestic debt interest payments exceeded the principal. Why, because of the policies they implemented to lower interest rates. In January 2022, the principal debt was 1,3 trillion and the interest was 1 trillion. In April, the principal of the domestic debt reached 1 trillion 483 billion, and the interest exceeded the principal amount to 1 trillion 743 billion, that is, it increased by 300 billion… You also say to the public that we reduced the interest rate.”