Iran MPs: Science Ministerˈs Impeachment Political

Tehran, Aug 20, IRNA -- The Majlis is set to impeach Minister of Science, Research and Technology Reza Faraji-Dana on Wednesday in a move backed by more than 50 MPs for a series of reasons including appointing two people, accused of involvement in the deadly unrest that followed the 2009 presidential election as senior advisor and deputy, allowing expelled students to return to the campus, and failure to confront political movements in universities. However some lawmakers believe that the impeachment is politically-motivated. In an interview with Iran Dailyˈs Wednesday edition, Ahmad Shohani, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the impeachment is totally political, adding that the minister acted within his responsibilities. ˈOne of the duties of the science minister is to maintain calm for students and instructors in universities and Faraji-Dana was successful in this respect,ˈ Shohani said. The legislator praised the minister for his year-long performance, implying that the impeachment move can deal a blow to this calm. He urged his colleagues to investigate the scandal of ˈillegal scholarshipsˈ granted to over 3,000 non-qualified individuals during the tenure of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad instead of impeaching the minister. Shohani stressed that MPs seeking the impeachment are playing politics. He pointed to the issue of those students expelled because of conviction, and said they should not be denied higher education after finishing their jail terms. ˈStudents who are seen as threats to national security should be listed by the Intelligence Ministry and but the ministry has not provided such a list,ˈ the MP pointed out. Another lawmaker told Iran Daily that Faraji-Dana is paying the price for instilling certain people whom opposition MPs dub as ˈseditionistsˈ involved in the 2009 unrest. Kamal Pirmoazzen said, however, the Intelligence Ministry verifies the background of those appointed to key posts in the Science Ministry. He noted that none of those accused of being ˈseditionistsˈ has committed any wrongdoings following the 2009 presidential vote. ˈThose who level accusations against science ministry officials seek their own partisan and political purposes and this is while people are aware of their insincere intentions,ˈ Pirmoazzen said. The parliamentarian stressed despite a heavy smear campaign launched by the opponents of Faraji-Dana in recent months, most of the MPs support him and want him to continue to serve as science minister.