MPs from Prosperous Armenia Party to go on hunger strike if Gagik Tsarukyan is deprived of his mandate

 At a session of the Political Council of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), the MPs of the PAP faction decided to go on hunger strike if PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan is deprived of his mandate, Vahan Babayan, MP from the PAP faction, has told ArmInfo.  

He said that in case of such a scenario, PAP Faction Secretary Naira Zohrabyan, ex-Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and other parliamentarians will start a hunger strike and a sit-down strike in Liberty Square.   

ArmInfo's sources report that the Political Council's session covers the issue of brain drain from the party. Naira Zohrabyan is presiding over the session. Tsarukyan is absent from the session. 

To note, by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's instruction, Speaker of Armenian Parliament Galust Sahakyan has started the process of depriving Tsarukyan of his mandate due to the latter's absence from the Parliament's sessions. Earlier, however, Galust Sahakyan himself recognized the reasons of Tsarukyan's absence as valid. In the meantime, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan has instructed the Financial Ministry to check the rumors about Tsarukyan's tax evasion. In addition, the law-enforcers guarding the PAP leader's business facilities were disarmed and dismissed on Feb 16.