Power Served on a Platter to You: Urikhanyan's Remarks Displeased Mirzoyan

If the Prime Minister declares that budget revenues are increasing and that there is money available, but it is unclear where to spend it, and if the country’s affairs are gradually improving, then what direction should these funds be directed, if not towards increasing pensions for retirees? This was stated today, November 21, during a session of the National Assembly by Tigran Urikhanyan, a member of the Prosperous Armenia faction, who introduced a bill on amendments to the Law on State Pensions of the Republic of Armenia.

He emphasized that his proposed bill aimed at raising pensions received a negative conclusion from the Government, justifying that calculations would be difficult. 'In today’s reality, there is nothing that is registered and documented that is not in the electronic and digital world, and it should have been easy to make that calculation for 1.5 years. If a citizen of the Republic of Armenia did not receive what they were served on a platter by the government, despite coming out to the streets a year and a half ago solely for the purpose of changing their quality of life, then you are breaking the spirit of 800,000 impoverished people whose light was ignited a year and a half ago,' Urikhanyan stressed.

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan, was not pleased with Urikhanyan’s remarks and posed the question, 'Mr. Urikhanyan, is that your private observation that power has been served on a platter to us?' Tigran Urikhanyan responded, 'Even those popular figures who have appeared with threats to cut off various body parts of different people cannot even comment on my pathos. I ask for civility. As for pensions, yes, we must strive to calculate. Mr. Mirzoyan, yes, the people served you the power.'

Mirzoyan replied again, saying, 'Mr. Urikhanyan, we remember very well the source of our power, which is the citizen of the Republic of Armenia and the vote they cast. You are not the one who must constantly remind us of that. It was the expression ‘served on a platter’ that I thought did not quite reflect the truth. You have the right to speak from this podium; you can say whatever you want, how about that.'

It should be noted that Urikhanyan’s bill on amendments to the Law on State Pensions was not included in the agenda of plenary sessions.