Iran’s parliament rejects government’s new draft budget
Iran’s parliament has rejected President Hassan Rouhani’s draft state budget of about $33.7 billion for the Persian year of 1400 which begins on March 21.
Members of parliament dismissed the general outlines of the budget bill by 148 votes to 99 on Tuesday during a stormy session, IRNA news agency said. Twelve lawmakers abstained.
President Rouhani did not attend the parliament’s reading of the draft budget, sending his deputy in charge of economic planning Mohammad Baqer Nobakht instead.
Nobakht had his microphone unceremoniously muted during his defense of the bill, with Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf explaining that his 20-minute time was up.
The government presented the draft budget to parliament early last year, promising less reliance on oil revenues and higher growth, but it took not long before critics described it as too generous on government spending and short on development.
President Rouhani has dismissed such criticism and on Tuesday, he told a government meeting before the parliament session that the new budget had been drafted to manage the development path during an economic war.
“From the government standpoint, any change in the structure and main focuses of the 1400 budget bill could cause serious damage to the people’s livelihood and the path of the country’s development and management of the economy,” he said.
It focuses on the nation’s welfare, with infrastructure reforms, health, creating jobs, and boosting non-oil exports among its key goals, according to the government.
