CHP's Karasu reacts to Minister Işıkhan's 'SGK debt' remarks: Government policies created it

Karasu, responded toMinister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan'sremarks regarding the SGK debts ofCHP-run municipalities in a statement.reacting to his statements, he said, "Today in Turkey, 17 million of ourpensioner citizens;70 percent areforced to live on an income below the minimum wage.This picture was not created by the CHP or CHP-run municipalities. This picture was created by the Ministry of Labor, which acts as a notary for the one-man regime.This picture was created by government policies."

Karasu, in a statement made on his social media account he stated the following:

"The Minister of Labor and Social Security has spoken. From showmanship, populism, from the sweat of the brow, from SGK debtdebtsmentioned.This is a method that thosewho have governed the country for yearsare accustomed to: The destructionthey themselves created to cover it up with noise. Mr.Minister, in this country, who manages the economy, who prepares the budget,who determines the minimum wage, who is shrinkingpension payments, and whose back are you loading the tax burden onto?The answer is clear. There is only one address. That address, and we may not make you happy, is not the Republican People's Party municipalities.

"You have created a country equalized inpoverty."

Todayin Turkey, 70 percent of our 17 millionretired citizensare being forced to live on an income belowthe minimum wage. This picture was not created by the CHP or CHP-run municipalities! This picture was created by the notary of the one-man regime, The Ministry of Labor created this. Government policies created this picture. In Turkey, approximately half of the 17.5 million workers and laborers work for minimum wage. This is a choice. This is a consciousa desperate labor regime. A cheap labor market order.

The architect of this is not opposition municipalities! Our retirees, who today on terminal benches, in parks, because they cannot find a place to stay, spend their nights in front of ATMsare. There are millions collecting food from market scraps. You have created a country equalized in poverty.The responsibility for this cannot beplaced on municipalities, Mr. Minister!

As for the issue of SSI debt... The facts are clear: The share of CHP-run municipalities' SSI debtswithin the totalis approximatelyin 2024.was 3 percent.

You know this data too. But you are notdisclosing it. You are running away fromtransparency.You are preventing the public from accessing accurate andreliable information.You are ignoring the large capital debtsthat you cannot collect.silence when it comes to those fed by the palace, silence when it comes to holding companies,acting like a cat that has spilled milk,but acting like a lion when it comes to CHP municipalities...

"The addressee of these questions is the Ministryof Labor and SocialSecurity itself""

The name of this politics is clear. Thismethod of yoursno longer convinces anyone. You are trying to throw a stone into a well and create a storyfrom that sound.The public sees insidethat well. They know the truth.Mr. Minister, first Account for these questions:

Why do retirees live below the hunger threshold? Why were pensions reduced to the level of charity? Why is half of the working population on minimum trying to hold on to life with a wage?Why are youngpeople insecure, workers in a debt trap,and the elderly in poverty? The addressee of these questions is not the Republican People's Party. The addressee of these questions is the AKP government! The addressee of these questions is the Ministryof Labor and SocialSecurityitself!

And let everyone know this: The struggle for dignity of the retiree, the worker,and the laborer is not a show. This struggleis a test of the conscience of politics.This country sees very clearly who has failed that test. When people read this, they say only onesentence: 'The truth is speaking.'has caused.'"