Ahmadinejad’s Majlis appearance may be postponed: Iranian MP

TEHRAN, March 12 (MNA) – MP Rouhollah Hosseinian said that the questioning session of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which is scheduled to be held on March 14, may be postponed until after the Noruz (Iranian New Year) holidays, which begin on March 20. “In view of the facts that the important and decisive Majlis election was held and that the participation of the Iranian nation delivered a hard slap in the face of the West, we should not take away from the sweetness of the election by (creating) such tensions,” Hosseinian told reporters on Sunday. He also said that some MPs are holding negotiations and consultations in order to postpone questioning the president until after the Noruz holidays, adding that it is likely that the president’s appearance before the parliament would be cancelled altogether. In a front page headline on Sunday the Arman newspaper quotes MP Ali Abaspour as saying reports of Ahmadinejad’s appearance in Majlis is a “media speculation”. A number of prominent lawmakers also issued a statement on Sunday, proposing that instead of appearing before the parliament to answer MPs’ questions, the president and his representatives would be invited to the Majlis to hold discussions with the parliamentarians in order to find ways to resolve the problems of everyday life facing the people. On March 7, Deputy Majlis Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar announced that Ahmadinejad would appear before the parliament on March 14 to answer MPs’ questions about irregularities by the administration. The decision to summon the president to the Majlis was made on February 7 after MPs were not convinced by the answers provided by the president’s representatives at a meeting held to discuss the reasons behind irregularities by the administration.