KUWAIT CITY, April 17: The dispute between National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al- Ghanim and the opposition MPs continues with MP Muhammad Al-Mutair accusing Al-Ghanim of insulting his mother during the supplementary session on Wednesday. In a press statement, Al-Ghanim vehemently denied the allegation urging Al-Mutair to prove his claim through the testimony of witnesses.

He said Al-Mutair always keeps a recording device in his pocket to record every word uttered in the legislative sessions. He urged Al-Mutair to present proof of the allegation that he insulted the latter’s mother, wondering if the device recorded everything except the alleged insult.

Meanwhile, an employee at the Assembly -- Khalid Bu Sleeb (brother of MP Soud Bu Sleeb) -- affirmed he did not hear Al- Ghanim and Secretary General of the Assembly Adel Allughani utter any insulting word. On the contrary, MP Khalid Al-Otaibi said he heard the speaker insulting Al-Mutair’s mother during Wednesday’s session. He added that he thought Al-Ghanim uttered such words in a burst of anger and expected him to apologize to Al-Mutair; but instead of saying sorry, Al-Ghanim denied what he said. MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa appealed to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah to interfere in ending the current political crisis.

He pointed out this necessitates the dismissal of Al-Ghanim and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah. He said HH the Prime Minister and the speaker violated the Constitution when they deprived the MPs of the right to grill the premier or any minister in accordance with Article 100 of the Constitution, which states: “Every member of the National Assembly is empowered to interrogate the Prime Minister and the Ministers on matters within their jurisdiction. If the issues are not pressing and with the concerned Minister’s consent, debate on an interrogation shall take place after at least eight days from the day of its presentation.” He asserted the most important monitoring tool of the MPs -- grilling -- was stolen when deliberations on the grilling motions against HH the Prime Minister were postponed for one and a half year. He claimed the results of voting on the request to postpone such grilling motions were rigged as Al-Ghanim announced that 33 out 60 who were present at the session voted in favor of the request.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff