Parliament Speaker: opposition wants attention with its initiated riot probe

"This commission signals a deficit of constructive ideas as, at this time during the parliament's fall session, opposition politicians would usually criticize the budget bill and registered budget proposals. And now, it seems to me that they cannot find a way to detect any critical points in the budget bill and that's why they are engaged in such a struggle to get attention," Cmilyte-Nielsen told the public broadcaster LRT on Thursday. "I would see this initiative as an attempt to maintain attention."

In her words, many of the questions raised by the opposition have already been answered in the public domain, which is why she questions the need for this parliamentary inquiry.

On Thursday, lawmakers registered a draft resolution on the establishment of an ad hoc commission to investigate Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite's responsibility in managing the riots outside the Seimas and the possible mobbing of General Ricardas Pocius, the former commander of the country's Public Security Service. This initiative was backed by 57 opposition MPs.

The whole Seimas will decide by a simple majority whether to set up such a commission.

The debate on the riots outside the Seimas in August, 2021 was sparked by Pocius' resignation by mutual agreement and his subsequent accusations that Bilotaite allegedly mishandled the suppression of the riots.

For her part, Bilotaite says the former PSS chief's statements were an attempt to cover up the fact that he provided false information, was absent from his workplace and was unreachable.