Turkey's main opposition leader has criticized a blackout on Parliament TV when the parliament discussed the corruption allegations against four former ministers on Monday.
Republican People's Party leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, claimed that the blackout was intended to prevent people from learning more about the allegations and held Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek responsible.
"Could there be such a thing as closing the parliament to public?" Kilicdaroglu said.
Former Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Urbanization Minister Erdogan Bayraktar resigned from their posts after an anti-graft probe was launched on December 17 last year and EU minister Egemen Bagis was discharged in a cabinet reshuffle.
The Turkish parliament agreed on Monday to set up a parliamentary inquiry committee to probe into all allegations against the former ministers. The committee will consist of 16 lawmakers and issue a report at the end of a two-month investigation.
Kilicdaroglu said the corruption allegations were not discussed in sufficient detail at the parliamentary debate on Monday, but that they would be elaborated on within the committee and shared with the public.
The December 17 probe saw the detention of the sons of the three former ministers -- Guler, Bayraktar, and Caglayan -- as well as high profile businessmen and the head of the state-owned lender Halkbank. Those detained were later released pending trial.
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