Ekrem İmamoğlu comments on meeting with Kılıçdaroğlu: 'What matters is what the public cannot afford to eat'

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu spoke about his upcoming meeting with the 7th CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

İmamoğlu commented, "I think what should really be of interest is not the meal we will have, but what our citizens and our society cannot afford to eat at their own tables."

İmamoğlu said the following:

“I am watching the interest in this meal with astonishment. We meet with our former chairman, and we will meet again. Turning this into such an event bothers the CHP. We meet with both our current chairman Özgür Özel and our former chairmen. I think what should really be of interest is not the meal we will have, but what our citizens and our society cannot afford to eat at their own tables. In other words, I think it is the economy.”

"BE TRANSPARENT"

Making statements regarding his remarks on the number of refugees in Istanbul, İmamoğlu said, “I have visited all 39 districts. If you listen to the findings of each district mayor regarding their own district... There are 13 AKP-run districts in Istanbul. If you listened to their estimates of the number of irregular migrants, it would double what I have said. Let me share more reliable data. The process for granting residency permits was halted because they believe the population in 10 districts has exceeded 20 percent. Even 20 percent of these 10 districts amounts to 1 million 200 thousand people. People's water consumption rate is serious data. Per capita water consumption in Istanbul has risen to 225 cubic meters. This does not mean our people are using more water. It shows that nearly 2.5 million people are living in Istanbul. I am calling out to the Minister; we have served in Istanbul before. Regarding local governments in Turkey and those coming with irregular migration or refugee status... The Minister's figure of 1 million 80 thousand covers those who have residency permits or temporary settlement permits. I would like to state that we and other municipalities are not being informed about the data. There are figures being mentioned in the tens of millions across Turkey. It bothers us when a 7-8 year old child says while I am going home by metro, 'there are millions of refugees and we are uneasy'... They should be transparent; this issue is an important one. To those who prioritize wars, let me say clearly that the sole cause of this issue is the wrong policies in Turkey at the time of the wars in the Iraq and Syria region,” he stated.

News Source: 12punto