Tensions rise in the Turkish Parliament: July 15 row between AKP's Efkan Ala and CHP's Murat Emir

Budget negotiations currently underway in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) became the scene of a tense debate between CHP Group Deputy Chairman Murat Emir and AKP Deputy Chairman and Bursa MP Efkan Ala.

Taking the floor following Ala's speech regarding the budget, CHP's Emir criticized the government, stating: "There is no account our friends cannot give. If you trust that rag of an indictment, if you trust evidence that does not exist, then broadcast it on TRT so the entire nation can see. But there is such a thing as the presumption of innocence. Of course, put them on trial, but try them without detention. We want to be tried in independent courts. You shouldn't be setting up new courts like that. If there is a verdict you don't like, you dissolve the court. But you are setting up a new court for Ekrem İmamoğlu's Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case. Mr. Ala, if you believe so much in the presumption of innocence, someone might come and ask you, 'Did you circle in Georgian airspace for 2 hours and 15 minutes on July 15?'"

SHARP RESPONSE FROM ALA

Following Emir's remarks, AKP's Efkan Ala requested the floor from Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to respond to the allegations.

In his speech, Ala said: "We took off from Erzurum Airport at 21:25 on a scheduled Turkish Airlines flight and landed at the airport in Ankara at 22:45. But we had no knowledge of the coup attempt. When we landed at the airport, our fellow members of parliament were there. After landing, around 23:00, we gave instructions to all units. At that moment, Hakan Fidan called me. I learned from him that there was a coup attempt. The doors of the plane hadn't even opened yet. Then, I managed the entire process by establishing a crisis center at the airport. Now I ask you this: Furthermore, Georgia was their hub; if someone were to flee, they wouldn't flee there. If this claim is true, the person who did it is a scoundrel, dishonorable, and base, or the person who says this is a scoundrel, dishonorable, and base. Now, let this matter end here. Does it suit you at all to repeat a FETÖ lie?" he said, making a sharp retort.

News Source: İHA