Larijani Responds to Ahmadinejad Letter

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday issued a warning to the parliament over amendments made to his 298 billion dollar budget bill.

Last week, the Parliament approved a 279 billion dollar budget outline for the year to March 2010, deleting the portion which sought to cut energy subsidies and redistribute the larger portion of the sum amongst citizens.

In a letter addressed to Larijani, the president said the changes violate the constitution, making the bill unbalanced and without integrity.

Citing various articles and laws, Larijani on Monday said the president was in fact the one acting contrary to the constitution.

“According to the 57th article of the constitution different branches of government must act independently of each other,” Larijani said, referring to the executive, legislative, and judicial divisions of Iran's system.

“Moreover, the Guardian Council is the sole authority allowed to interpret the Constitution, therefore the president's involvement in such issues is against the law,” he added in his three-page letter to the president.

The lawmaker also said that the Parliament legally has been assigned the power to change any part of the bill before it becomes law.

“According to Article 52, the annual budget of the country will be drawn up by the government in the manner specified by law and submitted to the Parliament for discussion and approval,” he said.

The letter noted that although supporting the underprivileged of society was mentioned as one of the main aims of the plan, economic theories and experience show that the impoverished and those from rural areas will be the most vulnerable to the government's new economic policy.

Larjani ended his letter by saying that based on the mentioned reasons, the President's grievances will not be addressed.

MT/JG/DT