Motion against Kılıç rejected

ANKARA

Parliament’s General Assembly rejected yesterday a motion of censure submitted against Youth and Sports Minister Suat Kılıç and Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

“This motion of censure should not have even been submitted,” Atalay told reporters after the General Assembly meeting where the motion was turned down following a vote. “Bringing it to Parliament’s agenda is against the Constitution.”

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has been accusing Atalay since last year of being a mole who allegedly sent advance warning of an impending police search to suspects in the Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse) charity scandal case.

Kılıç defended himself yesterday, telling reporters that it was not a crime for him to purchase property and that restorations in question were undertaken using his own resources. “Not one municipal-owned nail was used,” he said. The CHP had submitted the motion against Kılıç for his alleged influence in securing the purchase of historical real estate for a fraction of its value.