CHP’s Süheyl Batum insults President Abdullah Gül

Batum was in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir over the weekend, where he is standing as a candidate for Parliament at the top of the CHP list.

Speaking to a local TV station in Eskişehir, Batum focused on the allegations claiming that answers in the question booklets of the YGS were coded to reveal the correct answer if read in a certain way.

In the wake of the allegations, Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) head Ali Demir called a press conference where he acknowledged that there indeed was such a booklet, but said the only copy that included the coded answers was the one given out to the press after the examination.

Following Demir’s statement, Gül said he was convinced that no wrong was committed in the YGS when he was asked about the code allegations.

Criticizing Gül’s response to the crisis, Batum said: “What did the ÖSYM president say on the first day after the emergence of the crisis? ‘There is no coding, there was one book for each of the 1.7 million students.’ The person who claims to be the head of the people, the president, said he was convinced by the statements of the ÖSYM that no wrong was committed in the YGS.”

In February, Batum was at the center of another controversy when he likened the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to a paper tiger for being too weak to take a stand against the government.