Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Özgür Özel appeared not to have gotten over one of his party’s mayors joining the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Özel held a rally in Aydın, whose mayor, Özlem Çerçioğlu, left for the ruling party last week and accused the AK Party of “political pickpocketing.”
His remarks drew outrage from the AK Party as its spokesperson Ömer Çelik lambasted Özel “going beyond politics.”
“His words targeting our party are simply delirium,” Çelik said in a social media post on Tuesday.
“Özgür Özel’s third-class politics is not sufficient to grasp the reality that what the political leadership of our president meant for the nation. His ugly expressions hurled at our president mean nothing to us. It is Özel himself who is politically weak. It is his party that resorted to political pickpocketing for years by standing hostile against the nation’s will and by failing to confront the shameful outlook today,” he said, referring to corruption allegations against CHP-run municipalities.
“Özel would contribute to our political life if he could confront political scandals within his party. Otherwise, his remarks are merely an attempt to cover up the truth,” he said.
The CHP leader lashed out at Çerçioğlu in his speech in Aydın as he called for her resignation and branded her a “coward.”
“We are after you,” he said, before mocking Çerçioğlu over her nickname “efe,” a local Turkish name in Aydın used for fearless people. Çerçioğlu, in return, announced that she’d filed a lawsuit against Özel over the latter’s alleged insults.
