Zeljko Jovanovic, a Social Democratic Party (SDP) member of Parliament and chairman of the National Council monitoring the implementation of the anti-corruption campaign, on Wednesday commented on the demand from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) that he resign, saying that claims made on Tuesday by senior HDZ members Branko Bacic, Darko Milinovic and Bozidar Kalmeta were "pitiful, repulsive and disappointing."
Instead of being called to account for the plunder in the Hrvatske Ceste motorway operator, organised by the leadership of their party, they are using lies to harm the reputation of honorable people, Jovanovic told reporters at a Christmas reception organised by the Serb National Council in Zagreb.
Jovanovic called on the HDZ officials to hold a news conference next Monday and to withdraw their statements about him.
"It would be a fair thing to do, because everything they said about my personal property is a lie. I stated my personal property in a declaration of assets that I submitted at the beginning of my term as a member of Parliament," said Jovanovic.
Commenting on his work as a member of the Rijeka Hospital Steering Board, Jovanovic said that he was proud of everything he had done as a board member, calling on Health Minister Darko Milinovic to make public all minutes of meetings and decisions of the hospital's steering board.
"If he finds a single disputable decision, I will withdraw from politics for good," the SDP official said.
He also resolutely dismissed claims that as chair of the National Council monitoring the implementation of the anti-corruption campaign he was blocking investigations into his party colleagues, describing the accusations as ridiculous.
"As chairman of the National Council I have no power whatsoever to influence any investigative body. The job of the Council is to supervise the work of those bodies, and I as an individual have no influence on any of them," said Jovanovic.
