Response from Özgür Özel to President Erdoğan: 'We are committing the crime of defeating the AKP, Erdoğan is afraid of a passport photo'

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel visited Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, who is being held in Silivri. After the visit, Özel appeared before the cameras and gave a sharp response to both the arrests and the rhetoric of the ruling party. 

Responding to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's claims that the CHP has turned into a 'racketeering' party, CHP leader Özgür Özel said, 'The CHP has not turned into a racketeering party, but a dustpan party.'

In his statement on the matter, Özel said, "Listen to what you are saying. The hundred-year-old Republican People's Party may not have turned into a racketeering party, but a 'dustpan' party. We will take the dustpan in our hands and sweep away all the filth that Erdoğan has inflicted upon Turkey and dump it where it belongs."

Speaking about his meeting with the detained and suspended Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Özel stated, "They took Mayor Zeydan, who broke record after record in Adana, and put him here. This is about a tender held by the AKP municipality 14 years ago... It concerns payments made and the fact that this tender was not renewed later. The claims that 'I went to Mayor Zeydan to get payments' for a firm he did not award a tender to, that 'he sent me to so-and-so,' and that 'he asked me for small amounts of money' are all lies."

CHP leader Özgür Özel stated that there is a "criminal organization" led by Erdoğan himself, and that the crime in question is attempting to remove the government through democratic means. "Mayor Ekrem's crime is different; his crime is defeating Erdoğan three times in a row and not yet being defeated by Erdoğan," he said. Regarding Erdoğan's speech at his parliamentary group meeting, Özel added, "He took Beylikdüzü from him. He took Istanbul from him. You put up a Prime Minister, he defeated him. You put up a Parliament Speaker, he defeated him. You trusted Murat Kurum a lot, he defeated him. You still haven't been able to defeat Ekrem İmamoğlu. If there is someone who is undefeated, it is Ekrem İmamoğlu; if there is someone you cannot defeat, it is Ekrem İmamoğlu."

REGARDING THE DEMAND FOR THE TRIALS TO BE BROADCAST ON TRT

Regarding the 'green light' from the People's Alliance front concerning the demand for the trial process against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to be broadcast on TRT, Özel said, "We are being slandered and we want to make our voices heard. But TRT and pro-government channels broadcast the slanders but do not give us a platform. TRT is currently broadcasting the first 6 minutes of our group speech. That is only while they are announcing our guests and such. We want our nation to see our self-confidence, that we are representatives of clean politics, and that we are refuting the allegations one by one. Bahçeli said something truthful."

Those who were playing the three monkeys said they would support this after Bahçeli spoke. Let me not ask where Erdoğan's mind was until today, or where the Minister's mind was; let them follow Bahçeli's lead. Because they have united on the truth," he said.

CALL FOR MURAT ÇALIK: 'EVERY MOMENT IS CRITICAL'

Regarding the condition of Murat Çalık, who has been hospitalized again, Özel stated the following:

The medical report written for Murat Çalık at the hospital is also very critical. Unfortunately, we are not sharing some details so as not to upset his loved ones, but they say his illness may be in a stage of recurrence. Our request to the Council of Forensic Medicine is to act quickly. In these matters, starting treatment is a matter of moments. When there is a risk of these diseases recurring, every day spent is worth its weight in gold. It is very important. They should not let days be lost. We hope that the Council of Forensic Medicine will make the necessary decision quickly.