Statement from Future Party's Doğan Demir, who found MP salary insufficient: 'Those trying to smear me are dishonorable'

Future Party MP Doğan Demir, who stated that the 196,775 TL parliamentary salary is not enough, has issued a new statement.

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Statement from Future Party's Doğan Demir, who found MP salary insufficient: 'Those trying to smear me are dishonorable'

The remarks made by Future Party's Doğan Demir, who serves as an Istanbul MP under the Yeni Yol Party umbrella, regarding the parliamentary salary have sparked reactions.

Arguing that the MP salary of 196,775 lira is insufficient, Demir had stated in an interview with the Çağdaş Kocaeli newspaper, "Meals, tea, coffee refreshments, accommodation in guesthouses, travel expenses; they all come out of our own pockets."

Following the criticism, Demir issued a harsh statement, saying, "What I said was that we spend two to three times our salary, that our job is to serve our people and our country, and that rather than our salary, we should be thinking about the millions of our citizens living under hunger and poverty."

"Our Agenda Is Not Money, It Is the Public's Struggle to Make Ends Meet!'' https://t.co/WYZNWCi3PO pic.twitter.com/W9NpNwuGdz
— Doğan Demir (@dogandemir41) February 20, 2025

"THOSE TRYING TO SMEAR ME ARE DISHONORABLE"

In his statement, Demir defended himself by saying, "Whoever has been writing, circulating, creating a narrative, and trying to smear me in the press and public opinion for the last two days, claiming that I am rebelling because the MP salary is not enough, is dishonorable and unscrupulous."

"I HAVE NO BUSINESS WITH SALARY OR MONEY"

Demir used the following expressions in his statement:

"I am someone who knows most closely how our people live under difficult conditions, with pensions and minimum wages below the hunger threshold in our country. Furthermore, indexing parliamentary service to a salary is a very absurd situation; while we struggle to serve our country and our people, money has never been on our agenda, nor can it be. Moreover, everyone who knows me knows that I have no business with salary or money, nor do I have a need for it. The essence of the matter is that when my journalist friend asked during a conversation, 'The MP salary is being talked about a lot, is it enough?'—and I know that all MPs are subject to such questions—what I said was that we spend two to three times our salary, that our job is to serve our people and our country, and that rather than our salary, we should be thinking about the millions of our citizens living under hunger and poverty."

"CONSCIOUSLY CIRCULATED"

Finally, I would like you to know that I am, of course, aware of who consciously circulated the article, in which our conversation was reported and brought to the agenda, in a false and incorrect manner."

News Source: 12punto