Erdoğan's Istanbul admission while targeting İmamoğlu! 'No votes, no service' rhetoric continues...

An opening ceremony was held for the Ministry of Transport's Sirkeci - Kazlıçeşme Rail System and Pedestrian-Oriented New Generation Transportation Project.

İMAMOĞLU DID NOT ATTEND THE CEREMONY

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also attended the ceremony, which was marked by an invitation controversy between İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Murat Kurum. It was observed that İmamoğlu did not attend the opening ceremony.

KURUM TARGETED İMAMOĞLU

Speaking at the ceremony, İBB mayoral candidate Murat Kurum targeted İmamoğlu over the invitation debate.

Kurum stated, "Those who created excuses and controversy yesterday because they were not invited by phone to the opening ceremony of the Hagia Sophia Mosque, despite being invited with an official invitation, are now attempting to create a new crisis over an invitation to a program aimed at easy transportation in Istanbul."

ERDOĞAN ATTACKED THE İBB

Taking the podium after Kurum, Erdoğan attacked the İBB in his speech.

Saying "5 years were wasted," Erdoğan added, "Why was nothing done? They cannot do it, they will not do it. They have no such concern. All the buildings from Sirkeci to where we have arrived are dilapidated."

Repeating similar versions of the 'No votes, no service' rhetoric he uses at election rallies, Erdoğan said, "We are currently governing this country. The person or persons currently in Istanbul do not have such an opportunity, but from March 31 onwards, God willing, with our brother Murat Kurum, the AKP local administration, and the People's Alliance, when we join hands in Ankara, there will be no slippage, and we will walk the path with confident steps."

Erdoğan continued his words as follows;

The issue today is not what position or office you hold, but what works you leave behind. We understand the importance of this much better when we look at our history. We have been struggling to serve our country through politics for nearly half a century. We have held many positions to date. My brothers, the youth may not know. Parents know. Let us refresh our memory. Remember. What was Istanbul like when we took office in 1994? Garbage, pits, mud. Who was in power? The CHP. That is, the elders of the current ones. Why was Istanbul handed over to us? To get rid of all this filth. The late Kadir Bey gave Istanbul a new environment. Istanbul stood up again. That legacy we handed over came to this person through Kadir Bey. Somehow, by mistake, this person took this duty. Istanbul became garbage, mud, and pits again. We say; Istanbul again. 32 days left.

"ARE WE READY TO GIVE THE NECESSARY LESSON ON MARCH 31?"

The vision projects we brought to our country were wanted to be blocked by the CHP and the Gezi-protester crowd. We built Marmaray. Here is the Eurasia Tunnel. We built it. You do something too. There is an Istanbul local administration that thinks it is providing service by filling in the opened shaft of the existing metro in Sancaktepe, and is pathetic enough to hold a 'non-groundbreaking' ceremony in Kağıthane. Now, are we ready to give them the necessary lesson on March 31? Then there is no stopping. Whatever we did, they tried to put a wedge in it without looking at its content or benefit.

I always say. We are now guests of our youth's time. We will proudly hand over the trust we have carried with honor until now to the TEKNOFEST youth, God willing. If we can find a place in the heart of our nation, how happy for us. If we can instill hope in the oppressed and sad hearts that have turned their direction to our country, how happy for us.

The responsibility of serving Istanbul is not a part-time job. We have experienced this fact painfully over the last 5 years. You see the traffic problem, the transportation problem of this Istanbul, right? Is there any step taken? Everything is a disgrace in public transportation. There is no such concern as to how we can solve this issue in these points. You look at the Metrobuses, they are gone. Traffic is a deadlock in many parts of the city. Traffic, which was 49 percent in 2019, is 64 percent today. My Istanbulite brother loses 288 hours a year in traffic.

"DOES NOT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY"

With our brother Murat Kurum taking over the trust of the city on March 31, our projects will accelerate even more. We are currently governing this country. The person or persons currently in Istanbul do not have such an opportunity, but from March 31 onwards, God willing, with our brother Murat Kurum, the AKP local administration, and the People's Alliance, when we join hands in Ankara, there will be no slippage, and we will walk the path with confident steps. Starting work again by saying 'bismillah', we will hopefully end the interregnum period of dear Istanbul. We will hopefully make Istanbul even more beautiful with the new projects we will implement in environment and urbanization.

"WE PROVIDE EVACUATION SUPPORT"

We will renew Istanbul's building stock before the earthquake, which scientists advise us to prepare for without wasting time, arrives. Last Friday, we published the Presidential Decree regarding urban transformation practices to be carried out specifically in Istanbul. We are providing a grant of up to 700 thousand liras and a loan of up to 700 thousand liras for one residence to those who want to transform their homes. We are providing 100 thousand liras in evacuation support to tenants. Our total grant amount reaches 800 thousand liras. For workplaces, we offer a grant of up to 350 thousand liras and a loan of up to 350 thousand liras. I call on our citizens to evaluate this opportunity."

News Source: 12punto