Gürsel Tekin says he does not understand why CHP Chairman Özel is reacting: 'I spoke with Kılıçdaroğlu'

Gürsel Tekin, who was appointed as a trustee to the CHP Istanbul Provincial Presidency, said, "I do not understand why Özgür Özel is reacting to me," while stating that the former provincial building, which serves as Özgür Özel's office, belongs to the trustee committee. Tekin also announced that he met with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu two days ago.

Tekin, who participated in the main news bulletin presented by Habertürk TV Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Akif Ersoy, answered Ersoy's questions.

Trustee Gürsel Tekin, who has others call him 'Chairman of the Call Committee,' did not answer questions about why he has not resigned despite announcing he would, or whether he offered the party chairmanship to journalist Ozan Gündoğdu, saying, "Bilateral conversations are a matter of honor and decency. If someone shares bilateral conversations without my permission, they are zero in my eyes."

Claiming that he has received "extraordinary support" despite the reactions from the public, Tekin said regarding Hasan Babacan and Müjdat Gürbüz, who left the trustee committee, "Our friends left because they were under psychological pressure."

When asked about allegations that he called mayors and district chairmen, Tekin said, "I did not call mayors or district chairmen. On the contrary, my mayor and district chairman friends called me to say 'congratulations.' But I will not say who called. We arrived, and by the nature of the situation, we had to take delivery of the fixtures, the safe, and everything else as soon as we arrived. One day, five days, seven days. We need to make meeting decisions. We could not get the ledgers. We applied to the election board. Our headquarters also applied to Sarıyer. They said, 'We moved our building here to Bahçelievler.' As of the 2nd of the month, the building belongs to the Call Committee. Since the district election board did not know, we made our application. When no response came to the application, our friends followed up. In the end, when documents proving that this is officially the Istanbul Provincial building were submitted, our decision ledgers were taken. Our friends applied to get the information of our delegates, administrators, district, and provincial chairmen. They said, 'Get it from the headquarters.' Actually, I could have gotten the information. The building currently belongs to the Call Committee. The building is a building for all of us. Our chairman and our administrators can use the building very comfortably."

HE WAS DISTURBED

Stating that he does not understand why Özgür Özel is reacting to him, Gürsel Tekin said, "We worked with Mr. Özgür Özel for a long time. My name is Gürsel Tekin. I have fought for 40 years so that not a speck of dust would land on this party. I am not just a party member; I am a party person. I have been in contact with the prominent names of the CHP, with everyone. Just as the problems were being solved, something completely different came 24 hours later. We are working on how we can get our party out of the courthouse corridors as soon as possible. Today, hundreds of our friends are imprisoned. Mayors, public administrators. The main reason they are imprisoned is slanderers and informants. You do not open investigations into informants and slanderers, but you say, 'We disciplined and expelled Gürsel Tekin and Barış Yarkadaş in the middle of the night,'" he said.

Trustee Gürsel Tekin claimed that those who criticize him despite the large and harsh reactions from CHP voters are "not real CHP members," and said, "I am not referring to Mr. İmamoğlu. Aziz Kocaoğlu can criticize me. Mr. Önder Sav, Mr. Sevigen can criticize me. The three of us will complete our duty as soon as possible."

A STRANGE OFFER TO CHP'S LAWYERS

Stating that he met with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, trustee Tekin said, "I met with Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu 2 days ago. I called him, we exchanged greetings, that's all. Such a climate has been created. We are not looking for supporters here. There is a problem, a difficulty. There is an issue that you discuss every day and that occupies Turkey's agenda. I told the CHP Headquarters administrators, 'Come, three of us and three of you sit down, we will do whatever you say.' Let's solve these problems," he said.

"I AM KILIÇDAROĞLU'S COMPANION"

Describing the CHP's 'change' process as "converting the party's culture," Tekin said, "Mr. İmamoğlu is currently imprisoned. It would not suit me to say negative sentences about an imprisoned person. But if you try to corrupt the DNA of the party, if you try to convert the party's culture, of course we will object. I am a companion of Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu. If we object to our mother and father who brought us into existence, this is not just about the CHP, but about all political parties. Don't you know how to warn your leaders when they make mistakes or errors? Don't you say, 'This is wrong'? No. We were born with a culture of objection. No one can take our objection away from us. If there is something wrong, you will object," he said.