Iranian MP says Mortazai does not ‘deserve’ to hold key post

TEHRAN, April 2 (MNA) – A member of the Majlis presiding board, Mohammad Dehqan, said former Tehran prosecutor general Saeed Mortazai does not “deserve” to hold an important post. The appointment of Mortazavi as the new director of Social Security Organization has caused an uproar among some parliamentarians who hold him partly responsible for the notorious Kahrizak incident in which three detainees lost their lives. The appointment has prompted some MPs to push for the impeachment of the labor and welfare minister. “This person does not deserve to hold any post and (he) should not be in key and important positions,” Dehqan told . Dehqan said through such actions the government is seeking to create a situation to evade responsibility for high volatility in the foreign currency and gold markets and cast a shadow over the 2.6 billion dollar financial fraud case. In reaction to reports that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a message to Majlis threatening that if MPs impeach the labor and welfare minister he will appoint Mortazavi as interim minister, Dehqan said doing “illegal” act is not something unexpected from the government, but such threats will not deter representatives from doing their “legal duties”. He also said efforts by the government to start the second stage of the subsidy reform plan will trigger further inflation. Majlis has approved a law obliging government not to start the next phase of the subsidy cut. “This is a new law violation which will add up to inflation,” he explained.