A Representative Reveals That ‘Fear of Corona’ Prevented Budget Approval in Parliament

While members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly took an unprecedented step by refraining from approving the 1399 fiscal year budget, a parliamentary representative stated that legislators voted against the budget outline out of fear of coronavirus.

Members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly rejected the budget outline for the next fiscal year in an open session on Monday, Esfand 5, postponing its review to the next year, forcing the government to present a multi-month budget (a budget for several months of the year) instead.

The rejection of the budget outline in parliament came as a parliamentary representative told ISNA news agency that legislators rejected the budget outline out of fear of contracting coronavirus due to concerns about the spread of the disease, “because otherwise parliamentary sessions would continue daily in two shifts.”

This representative also stated that upon entering parliament, representatives had their body temperature checked, and three representatives were advised not to enter the chamber, but they entered the session despite this recommendation, one of whom was Mr. Amirabadi, the representative from Qom.

Ahmad Amirabadi, the representative from Qom, who left the parliamentary session on Monday due to his poor health condition, told reporters on the sidelines of the open session that approximately 50 people had died from coronavirus infection in Qom over the past two weeks. The Iranian Ministry of Health denied these statements.

Source: Voice of America