The Pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Group Deputy Chairman İdris Baluken has asked the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputies to join them in drafting a bill calling for the case regarding the lifting parliamentary immunities to be referred to the Constitutional Court.
Speaking in the southeastern province of Siirt on Sunday, Baluken criticized the CHP's voting against the bill in the second round on Friday, saying there is no political ground for "leftist deputies" in the CHP.
Calling on those deputies to join the HDP, he said: "You can come to the HDP's door on Monday with your conscience and your signatures."
According to a report in Habertürk, CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu sent a stern message to party members who have shown a tendency toward collaborating with the HDP and take the lifting of immunities to the Constitutional Court. He also said that he will not hesitate to expel those deputies from the party.
The outcome of the first round of voting revealed that the CHP voted against the bill, in contrast with a previous statement made by the party in support of the bill. Regardless of any discrepancy, the party has changed its strategy in the second round since it saw a wave of criticism, now contributing to the increase in voter support.
The CHP has long been fragmented, with some party members intensely opposing the HDP's policies and others close to and collaborating with the pro-PKK party. In an interview with Turkish daily Birgün, CHP Deputy Chair and Spokeswoman Selin Sayek Böke called for the HDP to work together in Parliament, saying "the CHP and HDP need to form a parliamentary alliance against the ruling Justice and Development Party [AK Party]."
Such calls have been reciprocated by PKK leaders time and again. Top figures from the terrorist organization; including Bese Hozat, Mustafa Karasu and Nurettin Demirtaş, the brother of HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, have echoed the calls of Baluken to forge an alliance with the HDP.
However, these efforts garnered harsh reactions from other figures in the party amidst fears that it is steering away from the basic principles of the party. CHP Antalya deputy Deniz Baykal, a former party chairman, criticized deputies and members of the party for such efforts in February by sharing photos on social media which showed CHP figures alongside HDP members. The photos include images of two Istanbul deputies, Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Mahmut Tanal, at the funeral of a PKK terrorist. In another photo, Tanrıkulu is also seen with HDP Mersin deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü on a plane.
