KUWAIT: Three lawmakers announced yesterday that they will file to grill Oil Minister Bakheet Al-Rasheedi over alleged violations and for refusing to submit an investigation report to the assembly. MP Khalil Abul told reporters that he and MPs Faisal Al-Kandari and Al-Humaidi Al-Subaie have agreed to file to grill the minister but after the assembly debates the grilling of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on November 27 over rains mismanagement.

Rasheedi was grilled in May over allegations of squandering public funds and MPs did not file a no-confidence motion against him but asked the government to form a committee to investigate the allegations. The government formed an independent committee which prepared a report confirming alleged violations against the minister and a number of senior oil executives.

The minister has refused to submit the report to the assembly saying it has been referred to a judicial committee but the assembly voted to ask the minister to distribute the report to MPs by Sunday. The minister did not. Abul said that they already have the approval of 10 lawmakers to file a no-confidence motion after the grilling debate.

MP Kandari confirmed that he will take part in the grilling, saying that the minister refused to distribute the report because it confirms financial allegations against the minister and some senior oil officials. MP Abdulwahab Al-Babtain said he will support the grilling against the oil minister, describing it as "the grilling of billions." He also added that he will support the prime minister's grilling.

Meanwhile, the constitutional court yesterday accepted two lawsuits challenging an article in the national assembly's internal charter that the assembly used to keep the membership of two opposition lawmakers: Waleed Al-Tabtabai and Jamaan Al-Harbash despite receiving jail terms by the court of cassation. The court decided to start hearing the two cases, which claim that the article is not in line with the law, from next Sunday.

By B Izzak