Meanwhile the administration officials respond differently to Majlis decision, although seemingly try to withdraw discreetly from executing subsidy cut plan.
Earlier lawmakers were not convinced by the explanations given by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a meeting which prolonged until the late night. He recurrently argued that the 200 trillion rials revenue anticipated by the Parliament to be gained by implementing the bill is not enough and limits the measures taken by the administration on putting the huge national project into practice.
But the lawmakers expressed their own grave concerns. Led by Ahmad Tavakoli, the head of Parliament's Research Center, the Principlist lawmakers believe that even if the subsidy cut project is executed by the 200 trillion rials revenue, it will cause a 35 percent inflation in the forthcoming Iranian calendar year 1389 (begins on March 21).
On the other hand, two other members of the cabinet have been tasked by the government with pursuing the case of subsidy reform plan. At the beginning the first Vice-President, Mohammad Reza Rahimi announced that some forces are to cause the administration to fall. Later with a more moderate rhetoric, Shamseddin Hosseini, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance announced that it's not clear when the subsidy bill is to be implemented through the 200 trillion rials rate passed by the Parliament.
These were the first responses of the high-ranking officials of the 10th government made after their 400 trillion rials proposal was rejected by the Majlis.
At a meeting with the members of Islamic Iran's Academicians Center held on Thursday, Rahimi who is also the political speaker of the administration said: "Some forces in the country don't want to let the subsidy plan to be implemented. The bill as ratified by the Parliament will contribute to increase the problems of people."
But attempting to take a more moderate stance, Hosseini opined that most probably the Guardian Council will approve the bill passed by the Majlis based on the 200 trillion rials revenue: "The law should be abided and the plan should be executed."
He however reminded that putting such a plan into practice is a difficult task and demands an appropriate stratagem. Hosseini further said with such a prospect, the time schedule for implementing subsidy cut plan cannot be exactly defined.
"The aforementioned time schedule depends on the management of executive stages, also the details must be scrutinized," he maintained.
"The government stressed on the 400 trillion rials revenue which could enable it to raise support for Iranian families, but even in the current form the law should be enforced," Hosseini said.
As the economy speaker of the administration, he pointed out that currently the rate of inflation for the next year cannot be accurately estimated: "The execution of subsidy reform plan may stoke inflation, but through some initiatives it can be controlled to fulfill the objectives defined by the law."
"The inflation can be controlled through employing related policies, so we do not accept that inflation rate will be raised by 50 percent as estimated by Parliament research Center," Hosseini asserted.
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