Tensions rise in budget committee: Veli Ağbaba displays photo of Hüseyin Gün with AKP members

The Planning and Budget Committee convened in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) under the chairmanship of AKP Samsun MP Mehmet Muş.

The committee is currently reviewing the general provisions of the 2026 Central Government Budget Law Proposal and the 2024 Central Government Final Account Law Proposal. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, who presented the central government budget last week, will respond to questions from members of parliament.

Before the meeting began, CHP Group Spokesperson and Malatya MP Veli Ağbaba held up a placard featuring photos of certain businesspeople and AKP figures, protesting the 'espionage' investigation targeting CHP's presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu.

Recalling İmamoğlu's arrest on espionage charges, Ağbaba stated:

"Because they know that nothing will come out of the file from the March 19 coup attempt; they couldn't find anything. As a last resort, they are arresting him for espionage. They are experienced in this; they did the same thing to Osman Kavala. He is released on one hand, then arrested for espionage on the other. This is the state of Turkey today."

"THERE IS A MENTALITY THAT SAYS WHAT IS PERMISSIBLE FOR THE AK PARTY IS A SIN FOR US"

Ağbaba continued his remarks as follows:

"The greatest insult that can be leveled at a person is espionage. This is a photo of Hüseyin Gün, who has a photo with Ekrem İmamoğlu. All of the AK Party's authorized figures are here. Why is no action taken against them? There is a mentality that says what is permissible for the AK Party is a sin for us. We want to say that we reject this mentality. We trust our mayor, our presidential candidate. We see this as a political operation, and it is being watched with astonishment all over the world. Furthermore, on one hand, he is accused of being a British spy, while on the other, the British Prime Minister is welcomed with red carpets. We are truly living through an interesting period together."

'EITHER WE ARE NOT NATIONAL OR WE ARE NOT INDIVIDUALS'

Displaying another visual, Ağbaba made the following remarks:

"There is another photo, friends. What does it say here? The national income per capita is 17,748 dollars. What does this citizen say? I guess I am either not national or I am not an individual. What does 17,748 dollars mean? That is 62,000 liras per person per month. That comes to 248,000 liras per month for a family of four. If Mr. Cevdet Yılmaz said this in Bingöl, the aunts would chase him away with their slippers. If I said in Malatya that one person in a household earns 62,000 liras and a family earns 248,000 liras, I swear they would chase me away with slippers too. Members of the press here, who earns this much money? Bureaucrats here, who earns this much money? This is a complete lie. Either we are not national or we are not individuals. That is what the citizen is saying."

News Source: 12punto