The Minister of Social Rights, Carles Campuzano, will have to appear in the Parliament’s commission for promising the construction of a second public residence in Santa Coloma de Gramenet in an event with Gabriel Rufián, candidate of the Republican Left for the local mayor’s office.
All the groups, except ERC, have voted this Wednesday, in a meeting of the Social Rights commission, in favor of the urgent appearance of the minister, who this week has received criticism as a result of this matter, especially from the PSC, that governs the city with Núria Parlón, and Junts per Catalunya, two formations that did not rule out yesterday the disapproval of the head of Drets Socials. But not only these two groups have put Campuzano on the trigger, the other formations have also criticized that a second residence in the municipality of Barcelonès is linked to a good electoral result for the Republicans.
In any case, it will be the Department of Social Rights who will set the date of the appearance. Last weekend, in an ERC act, although Campuzano is independent, the minister promised to promote a new residence for the elderly. The public profile of the Republican party in Santa Coloma de Gramenet also linked the construction of the residence to a good result for the Republicans.
In the session that took place this morning in the Catalan Chamber PSC, JxCat, the commons, Vox, the CUP and the mixed group (PP) have voted in favor, with 13 votes, of the urgent appearance. ERC has been left alone in voting against.
The republican deputy Bartomeu Compte has recommended to the other deputies of the commission that they listen to the totality and literalness of Campuzano’s statements in relation to the residence of Santa Coloma de Gramanet. The other groups have crossed out these days the announcement that was published in the networks of “electoral blackmail”, “sectarianism” or “indignity”, among other qualifiers.
“We know that Santa Coloma needs a second residence,” Campuzano said at the event, and indicated that “the city council must have the will to build it.” If this will exists, said the minister, “the Generalitat and the city council will reach an agreement to build this second residence and to guarantee its public financing.”
However, the profile of ERC in the municipality linked the construction of the geriatric center to his party being decisive in the next mandate with Rufián, who after the barrage of criticism pointed out that it was not a promise from the Government. “The head of the Esquerra Republicana list, Gabriel Rufián, and the Minister of Social Rights, Carles Campuzano, agree on the second public residence for the elderly in Santa Coloma de Gramenet if the Republicans are decisive in the next mandate,” it was said in the profile of Republicans in social networks.
The minister, for his part, pointed out that Santa Coloma de Gramenet “needs a second residence and has public land to build it, which is why I said that if the City Council builds it, like the Generalitat, we will study the concertation of places or the agreement”. “If the PSC does not build the residence and Esquerra is decisive in the next term, the equipment that the Department will provide with places will be built,” they justified from the local ERC group.
With all this matter, the Socialists are very “annoyed” with the Government because precisely that residence, demanded by the Parlón city council since 2012, as they indicate, has been denied and now the minister is taking advantage of a campaign event with Rufián to promise His construction.
As the spokesperson for the PSC in Parliament, Alícia Romero, assured yesterday, the land for the construction of said residence was ceded by the consistory ten years ago, but the Catalan Executive refuses to build it. In fact, “not a single residence has been built in ten years in Catalonia,” Romero denounced yesterday.
