MPs flay Shura decision to suspend session

Manama : The decision of Shura Council to suspend their weekly session next Sunday, claiming that “no enough subjects are being referred from the Council of Representatives,” was slammed by a number of MPs.

During the first hour of the MPs’ weekly meeting yesterday, MP Khalid Al Shaer accused the members of the second branch of the legislative body in the country (Shura Council) of having “other purposes” for suspending their weekly meeting next week.

The MP insisted that the statements were not made because of what they announced, alleging that parliamentarians are not sending them subjects to discuss.

“There are some Shura Council members who have made reservations to travel abroad and won’t return until March,” he claimed.

“We reject the decision of Shura Council members to suspend their session. This doesn’t benefit the reforms project. They hardly submitted any law proposals in comparison to us, although both councils have the same number of members,” he added.

The Shura Council members’ “mocking” attitude also provoked MP Adel Al Assoomy, who accused them of “repeatedly disrespecting the Council of Representatives.”

“Shura Council members have delayed many important law proposals referred to them by our council for years. Some had been kept in their drawers for almost eight years. We must send them a clear message that this behaviour isn’t acceptable,” Al Assoomy told the Council’s Speaker Ahmed Al Mulla, demanding that he should take immediate action.

Al Assoomy, who has been an MP since the creation of the Council of Representative 16 years ago, queried: “Why are they criticising the 30 new MPs, who were elected during this legislative term? Most of the Shura Council members are former MPs. What did they do for citizens during their term, while oil barrel prices exceeded USD120?”

“They are blaming them now when oil prices dropped to US$25. Despite these circumstances, they (the MPs) did what the former MPs couldn’t do in four years. They passed important laws and proposals such as the construction of additional 25,000 housing units for citizens,” he explained.

Several other MPs also made furious statements during the session, rejecting what had been stated by Shura Council members on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Al Mulla said that “the Council has no issues with Shura Council and positive cooperation between them is needed.”

As reported earlier, Shura Council Chairman Ali Saleh Al Saleh announced on Sunday that next week’s session will be suspended, since no sufficient topics were referred by the MPs lately for discussion.