'Dirty water' debate in Parliament: Minister Kurum and CHP's Aygün clash

As budget negotiations continued in Parliament, a 'dirty water' debate broke out between Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum and CHP MP İlhami Özcan Aygün.

ERGENE WATER FOR KURUM, WHO BROUGHT WATER FROM THE GULF

Taking the floor during the budget debate for the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Aygün recalled that Minister Kurum had brought water from the İzmir Gulf during the committee's budget discussions, stating, "You found the place empty in the Planning and Budget Committee and brought water from the İzmir Gulf. I brought you some from the Ergene. In 2011, the Prime Minister of the time, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said, 'Cleaning the Ergene is child's play.' The year is now 2024. This is the Ergene River," he said, showing the bottle of dirty water in his hand.

ÖZCAN TOOK THE WATER TO KURUM, KURUM PUSHED IT AWAY

At the end of his speech, Aygün said he would give the dirty water to the Minister and walked toward the benches where the Minister was sitting. As Aygün approached, Murat Kurum stood up and pushed the water Aygün had left on the desk onto the floor.

Following this, an argument broke out in front of the ministerial benches. AK Party MPs moved to the area where the Ministers were seated. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Sırrı Süreyya Önder suspended the session.

'LEAVING SOMETHING WITHOUT CONSENT IS UNACCEPTABLE'

Conveying the assessment made by the Group Deputy Chairs during the break, Sırrı Süreyya Önder stated, "Any kind of visual aid, such as posters or certain objects, can be used at the podium to strengthen one's oratory and the issue being discussed. It is legitimate within reasonable bounds and rituals. However, beyond that, trying to leave anything in the area where ministers are located or on the benches where any MP is sitting, without their consent or invitation, is not something we can accept."

Önder expressed his personal view as follows:

"Both the person who feels such anger and the one who is subjected to it later feel deep embarrassment. It does not take months for this embarrassment to be felt. We cannot say that the public approves of this either. What is expected of us here is to keep effective communication channels open, to make the problems entrusted to us visible in the most effective way, and to show tolerance for this."

News Source: 12punto