YEREVAN. – The MPs of Bright Armenia are not going to give up their powers to the government of the republic, even for some time, and especially in the current situation. Edmon Marukyan, chairman of the opposition Bright Armenia party and head of the Bright Armenia faction in parliament, said this during Tuesday’s National Assembly special sitting to debate on the bill on making amendments and additions to the law on the state budget for 2020.

At the session, Minister of Finance Atom Janjughazyan assured that this year he will no longer petition to the parliament for making changes in the state budget, and this raised a number of questions for Marukyan. According to the parliamentarian, thus, the government, in fact, wants to free itself from parliamentary oversight in terms of planning the state budget and, if necessary, getting additional loans from international donors.

The MP expressed a conviction that the authorities have chosen the wrong strategy to assist the country’s businesses and the population. He noted that the government has managed to raise some funds, and 100 billion drams would be enough to provide real support to businesses and the population. "We have that money," Edmon Marukyan said. "In many countries, the authorities have allocated money 5-16% of GDP; at us, that indicator is 0%. Give that money to the people! Last year we received $600 million from Russia alone. A positive result was managed to be achieved thanks to the work of the people."