Murat Kurum takes a sharp jab at his rival İmamoğlu: 'You are a puppet'

Here are the highlights from Murat Kurum's statements:

"WE COULDN'T SMILE MUCH"

We are seeing scenes at Metrobus stops, on buses, and on the roads that could rival horror movies. Our people now want someone who works and strives for them. This is what we see in the field. You wouldn't believe it if you saw the outpouring of love. Everything is worth it for them. Serving a noble city like Istanbul and setting out for this cause will be a matter of pride for us.

We are in the field with our youth and this motivation. For example, I went somewhere today; if you could see the way our aunt looked at us. Full of hope, full of love. They say, "Oh, so it was this kid, you are smiling, you are tall, you are thin." Because we were on screen due to disasters, we couldn't smile much. We are encountering very beautiful stories; we are happy.

RESPONSE TO THE "THE STOVE WASN'T LIT" CRITICISM

They can't find anything to say or criticize, so they talk about the stove not being lit... There are spoiled children in classrooms like that. There are people who can be called spoiled, empty talkers. We met with young people there; we are both listening to them and having suhoor together.

No one is happy with this, whether the stove was lit or not... It means I am so capable that I can cook menemen without even lighting the stove. These people are used to waste; they think all the stoves must be lit. We cooked it very nicely and ate it.

There was a young person there that day who was undecided about whether to go to the polls or not, and I told him this: "You are the decision-makers of this country. Your judgment here is very important. The future is your future. You are the last generation to put a stop to the bad course of events." I convinced him; he will cast his vote for us.

"İMAMOĞLU MUST RESIGN"

It is best for everyone to reflect their political will. Unfortunately, the opposition cannot criticize us regarding the work we will do. What is the only thing they talk about? He made a gaffe here, he said this there. Actually, they are the ones making the biggest gaffes. His pack is empty, he has no work done, he wasted 5 years. They saddened and hurt the people of Istanbul. Oh, he wore his hard hat backward, oh, he made a gaffe about Gaza.

If they saw the hard hat, they would ride on it and slide during their ski vacation. I came here by creating works and services. We wore that hard hat while we were creating works. They don't know what a hard hat is. We graduated from school, we traveled with our hard hat in our car. We traveled to 11 provinces during the disaster of the century with that hard hat.

This is a local election; a local election is an election of service. They cannot show this determination and effort. You look and see them setting up tents wherever they see an opportunity for their own interests, stabbing their own friends in the back. What happened? The mentality of 'we know everything' is not the mentality Istanbul needs. You have to be the hope of the young people living in Istanbul. If people are going to work in 3 hours in traffic, you have to look in the mirror. "I spent 5 years with perception, I will continue with perception..." There is no such thing. You are going to your home, but you can't get there. How can such a thing happen? Forget about being a candidate again, he should resign right now. If I were in such a situation, I wouldn't sit there for a minute. What is the solution? Investment, public transportation.

"HE KNOWS HOW TO MAKE PROMISES"

Let's not work on earthquakes, let's not work on transportation, let mucilage continue, let the Marmara be polluted, let's not bring a single drop of new water source to Istanbul, let stray animals continue to roam the streets; is that the solution? If you are the mayor managing this city, you have to provide solutions to these. We see an Istanbul where Metrobuses burn and break down every day.

He knows how to make promises. So what happened today? What happened to overcoming these problems for 5 years? You were going to build green spaces, what happened, everything was going to be beautiful? Tell me one thing that is beautiful in Istanbul. We will work; we came here by working. We didn't come here by putting stones in anyone's path.

Believe me, as they say, "You need to have an uncle in Ankara to get somewhere..." I don't have an uncle in Ankara. I have an uncle in Ankara, but he is farming in the village. In the AK Party, our President strives to bring whoever will do the best job to that position. Look, I am the example.

"THERE WILL BE NO LOSER"

We have built 46 thousand disaster houses. We have restored 80 historical squares. Let me announce the election result to you: no matter what they say, we will win on March 31. All of Istanbul will rejoice; there will be no loser. Our youth, our women will rejoice.

STATEMENT REGARDING THE 'GAZA QUESTION' THAT WAS NOT ALLOWED

Our presenters inevitably encounter such events in that program. A girl was going to ask a question about Gaza. The moderator intervened, saying the content of this program is not like this. And we all know Mehmet Akif Bey's sensitivity regarding Gaza. They carried out a ruthless intervention and a total attack. I was both curious about the girl's question and saddened.

We called the girl, she asked her question, and I answered it. They are uncomfortable because I said, "When we win on March 31, our children in Gaza will also rejoice," let them continue to be uncomfortable. We will always fight. The part-time mayor immediately goes behind the truck trailer and poses.

Where was your mind until now? I am who I am; I will not act. I did not win people's love by acting, and I will be like this from now on. I cannot put myself into a different mold. I will continue to say what comes from my heart.

HOW WILL THE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM BE SOLVED?

In 2024, the travel time in traffic reached 64 minutes; we will reduce this to 39 minutes. Our goal is to double the existing metro line and provide metro transportation to every district of Istanbul. We will first take the load off the Metrobuses route. Maybe there will still be traffic in the city, but there will be a metro alternative. There is traffic in Paris, there is traffic in New York, but people provide transportation by metro.

We will open alternative roads related to highways. We will build 122 km of tunnels on the Anatolian and European sides, you know, the tunnels they pour concrete into. We have to solve the Mahmutbey junction; citizens suffer for 2 hours every day, and there is a mayor watching this.

İSPARK has become an institution that loses money. We will build parking lots near public transportation points; our people will park their cars in the parking lot and take the metro or Metrobuses. We will make İSPARK free for the first half hour.

We will do stream rehabilitation, we will increase green spaces, we will protect the Marmara. We cleaned the Golden Horn with a thousand efforts. A theater has been played for 5 years, and we are watching this.

SOLUTION PROPOSAL REGARDING THE TAXI PROBLEM OF ISTANBULITES

He has not shown any will regarding taxis or stray animals either. Where in the world does a municipality do taxi business? When looking back, we will remember him as a mayor who produces excuses, tries to do politics through perception, stabs his party leader in the back, squanders Istanbul's resources, and is not present in Istanbul.

There is no will to solve the taxi problem, is there? The law says a municipality cannot do taxi business. Where is the justice? Then he says I applied to UKOME and they didn't give permission; he doesn't have such authority, does he? He asks knowing they won't give it. If we could do it, we would already do it.

"GAZA WILL REJOICE BECAUSE ISTANBUL WILL BE STRONG"

We have done every job they have been an obstacle to. They have opposed everything. You cannot see such an opposition anywhere in the world; they are against everything. They don't know what to do; they are afraid. They spent the money for their own future. We are sending him on an indefinite vacation on March 31.

Their report cards are zero; they have done nothing. They couldn't go beyond opening fountains and statues.

Gaza will rejoice because Istanbul will be strong. We will win together with all Istanbulites. We will not just be a mayor; we will be a brother, a son.

"I WILL OPEN IT IN 2 DAYS, I SAY IT AGAIN"

They have built 11 City Restaurants (Kent Lokantası), and they are telling it as if it were a feat. Fatih Municipality has 16, Pendik Municipality has 11; they all have social facilities. I will open it in 2 days, I say it again. During Kadir Bey's time, we were giving free food to 500 thousand people; he is telling the food he gives for a fee as if it were a feat. We are a mentality that runs to the need. You have started to distribute paid food where we distributed free food, and you are telling it as if it were a feat. We will open nurseries that serve 24/7. We don't announce the work we do, like distributing milk, with drums and clarinets like you.

On the evening of March 31, we will come to Saraçhane and hold this waste to account one by one. What did he succeed in? He succeeded in finishing Istanbul.

"THEY ARE TRYING TO DO BUSINESS WITH INCOMPETENT STAFF"

We want to provide sustainable, permanent support to young people. Istanbul will be the center of high technology. There will be software courses at İSMEK; we will provide 10 thousand TL scholarship support to university students. We will provide 25 cubic meters of natural gas support to our students. Libraries will be opened quickly wherever there is a need. There will be sports fields in neighborhood gardens. E-sports centers will be established. Istanbul will be a city of museums. We will support amateur theater groups.

A young person in Silivri will not have to come to the center of Istanbul to listen to a concert. What step have you taken regarding the Olympics for 5 years? There is a museum waiting in Topkapı for 5 years; they haven't driven a nail. There is no concern; concern makes people hit the roads.

They are trying to do business with incompetent, unskilled staff. Every kind of payment from the central budget has been made on time until today. Its own revenue has decreased; they haven't fought to increase it. They are not paying the SSK premiums of the employees. İSKİ has become unable to pay its electricity bill.

CRITICISM OF ÖZGÜR ÖZEL REGARDING PATRIOTISM

The last person to question patriotism is Özgür Özel. He laughed at a martyr's funeral. Look in the mirror. You cannot do justice to that seat; you don't know the mayor.

"YOU ARE A PUPPET MANAGED FROM A CENTER"

Their lives have been spent dividing the nation. They discriminate against our housewives because of their political preferences; they don't see them as having women's status. Wait a little, be patient; housewives and our patriot friends will also vote for us. Go and liberate yourself. You are a puppet managed from a center. You are someone who is not ashamed of lying, whose face does not blush. You cannot touch our Rabia, you cannot question our patriotism. Let your ears hear what comes out of your mouth. Istanbul is tired now. It is overwhelmed by this incompetent mayor's term.

"WHEREVER YOU GO TODAY, THEY SAY 'MURAT KURUM CAN DO IT'"

One of the things they promised but didn't do is urban transformation. When I said we would transform 650 thousand houses, he says they shouldn't be transformed. We have to work in the light of science. Science says Istanbul is an earthquake city. We have to fight against earthquakes; this is a matter of survival for this country. I say, look, I have works. Wherever you go today, they say "Murat Kurum can do it."

Why? Because we did it in the past. We will come, we will deal with Istanbul's problems. We will be at the construction site; those who look for us will find us doing earthquake transformation at the construction site. We will do it by transforming 60 thousand houses every year at KİPTAŞ. Our citizens have expectations regarding zoning regulations.

He couldn't do 87 percent of his promises. Your success is obvious; there is no need to hope for my slip of the tongue. If he knows how to multiply and divide, he knows his own success. He allocated twice the money he allocated to the earthquake budget to advertising. It's a pity, honestly, it's a pity. We will work to end the transportation ordeal, eliminate the earthquake risk, and establish peace and trust. We will work day and night, we will sacrifice from our family, we will not go on vacation.

WHAT WILL BE DONE ABOUT STRAY ANIMALS?

We need to bring this issue under control. This problem is growing every day, the anxiety on the street is increasing. We will establish animal care centers in our 39 districts. We will take our stray animals to these shelters, and we will carry out sterilization and care procedures. If we don't intervene, this anxiety will be experienced on every street in 2-3 years with the reproduction of these animals. We will eliminate this fear. If we don't intervene, its dimensions will go to very different points.

"ISTANBULITES WILL FEEL RELIEF IN TRANSPORTATION"

We need to solve the Metrobuses problem very quickly. We will take steps to increase the traffic speed on the road. Istanbulites will feel a relief in transportation. We will hold a tender quickly. Everything will be transparent. We will carry out the construction process of highway tunnels. Earthquake transformation... We will receive applications on April 16. We will act together with scientists, our artists, our athletes, and our youth. We will listen to our industrialists. We will spend Istanbul's resources for Istanbulites. We didn't sleep; we cried with our nation.

BURNING BUSES

There were fewer buses in 2019, but there were not this many breakdowns. He organizes a tender to give the maintenance tender to his own crony, and then the bus burns, the Metrobuses burns. You replace half of the municipal staff and bring in people who don't understand the job; this is what happens.

"OUR CITIZENS' PROBLEMS WILL FALL DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME"

We will establish a Digital White Desk; our citizens' problems will fall directly in front of me, and they will be forwarded to the relevant institution by me. I will do it with my whole team. We will not deprive anyone of their bread unjustly. We will have units working 24/7.

WILL THE YENİDEN REFAH PARTİSİ DIVIDE THE VOTES?

We are also candidates for the votes of our YRP brothers. When making that choice at the ballot box, they will think about who they will benefit and make a decision in this direction.