At group meeting, Baykal lambastes AKP deputy chairman

At his party's group meeting yesterday, main Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal criticized recent controversial remarks by ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chairman Dengir Firat, saying that they represented an effort to settle accounts with Ataturk's modernization project. Baykal also expressed concerns about the economy, saying, "Turkey ran into debt under AKP rule. The privatization honeymoon is over, and now the bill has come due."