CAIRO: Parliament members affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood attacked the National Democratic Party (NDP) while responding to accusations directed at them by Chairman of the People’s Assembly (PA) Fathi Sorour.
In an interview with the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper last week, Sorour accused Brotherhood and independent parliament members of being “unorganized ticking bombs, saying they belong in clubs and syndicates but not in the PA.
On Tuesday, the Brotherhood’s parliamentary bloc called for a meeting at the PA to respond to what they described as “offensive accusations made by the government against both the group’s and independent MPs, a press statement read.
In a meeting that included more than 30 independent and Brotherhood MP, the Brotherhood accused PA members affiliated with the NDP of “adopting projects that only serve the government’s interests and not the people.
Both independent and Brotherhood MPs also accused the NDP of rigging the 2005 parliamentary elections results to win the majority of seats as well as manipulating some independent members into joining the party.
“NDP members are disorganized and do not have a set agenda, even though they insist that they do but would not disclose it, the statement read, “and even if there’s an agenda, then they do not want to reveal it because they fear the public’s reaction and [it might] cost the party its credibility in the public’s eyes.
Participants at the meeting agreed that Sorour should issue an official apology to Brotherhood and independent MPs.
“We would love to be unorganized forever, said Hussein Ibrahim, head of Brotherhood’s parliamentary bloc. “If serving the public means being unorganized, then we welcome this title.
“People know very well who conveys their problems to the PA and who does not, he added.
Moustafa Al-Guindy, independent MP, justified the term “ticking bombs, attributing it to the MPs’ stance against corruption, siding with the public instead.
“Currently all Egyptians are ticking bombs because of the tragic conditions we live in.
Mohamed Al-Omdah, Brotherhood MP, said that both Brotherhood and independent PA members united several times during the last parliamentary elections against corruption.
Independent MP Gamal Zahran said that Sorour’s statements aim at eliminating both independent and Brotherhood MPs before the Parliamentary elections next year.
