It was a session full of everything – verbal exchanges, foul language, accusations and wild reactions from the jam-packed gallery – and the only thing absent was the grilling that MP Mohammad Al-Juwaihel vowed could topple the whole government.

Newly-elected Juwaihel, in his first grilling, was forced to speak by Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun after he consumed just five minutes in explaining his grilling against Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, the third ruling family minister to be grilled by supporters of the former government.

Juwaihel began the “show” from the word go. As he ascended to the podium to start the debate of the grilling, he placed a placard reading “Kuwait is for Kuwaitis only” in front of him amid strong objections by MPs.

The National Assembly then voted to ask Juwaihel to remove the small banner which antagonized MPs and the public in the gallery as well but he refused to abide by the Assembly’s decision. That forced deputy speaker Khaled Al-Sultan to adjourn the session for 15 minutes, a break that was followed by two more later due to clashes.

When the session resumed, Saadoun, who returned to his chair, asked Juwaihel to remove the placard and when he refused, Saadoun accused Juwaihel of violating the rules in order for the house to expel him because he was not prepared for the grilling. But Juwaihel finally accepted mediations by the prime minister and removed the controversial banner.

Juwaihel then began the debate and took just five minutes to finish his arguments out of the allowed 90 minutes. That shocked the interior minister who asked the lawmaker what issue he wanted him to explain. Juwaihel then spoke briefly about the need to “cleanse the country” from those who hold dual citizenships because they constitute a danger to the regime and the ruling family. He also claimed that the son of Sultan also holds American nationality besides the Kuwaiti one and called on the minister to apply the law.

Juwaihel also accused the minister of granting Kuwaiti citizenship to a number of people after it was withdrawn by the former interior minister. He also charged that the Kuwaiti citizenship was granted to a number of Iraqis who were senior aides of former dictator Saddam Hussein who invaded Kuwait in 1990.

The minister stressed that the government’s actions are guided by the law, insisting that people are granted citizenship after a thorough examination. He also refused Juwaihel’s use of foul language to describe bedoons, or stateless people, and those who hold dual citizenship. Under Kuwaiti law, dual citizenship is banned.

During the debate, opposition MP Ali Al-Deqbasi harshly criticized Juwaihel who has been attacking Kuwaiti bedouin tribes, saying he has repeatedly been convicted by Kuwaiti courts on several accounts of cheating and fraud. MP Ali Al-Rashed spoke in support of the grilling, although he said he does not approve of the style of Juwaihel in raising the issues. During the debate, Rashed, a supporter of the former prime minister, clashed with Islamist opposition MP Falah Al-Sawwagh, who spoke against the grilling.

Also, opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrak entered into strong exchanges with Shiite MP Abdulhameed Al-Dashti when the latter claimed that Barrak knows the number plate of a jeep allegedly owned by an influential individual who is accused of being responsible for the death of Mohammad Al-Maimouni Al-Mutairi under torture at a police station.

Barrak asked Dashti to behave and Dashti responded with an insult. Barrak then accused him of being a thief to loud applause from the gallery that forced the speaker to adjourn the session and ask the guards to vacate the Assembly of visitors. When the session resumed, Saadoun allowed visitors to attend only from the upper floor gallery.

The grilling however ended without submitting a no-confidence motion, apparently because Juwaihel’s supporters could not find the 10 required MPs to sign the motion.

Before ending the grilling, the interior minister insisted that the main aim of every Kuwaiti should be to safeguard its security and warned against divisions in the society.

It was the third grilling by the supporters of the former government, known as the minority bloc, to be debated since the new Assembly was elected in February. The previous two grillings were against the prime minister and the information minister, both of whom along with the interior minister are members of the ruling family. Opposition lawmaker Waleed Al-Tabtabaei said the three grillings by the minority MPs only managed to make the three officials stronger.

Before the debate, the Assembly agreed to extend until the next term the duration of a parliamentary panel probing allegations that the former prime minister transferred public funds into his accounts overseas. The Assembly also agreed to lift the immunity of liberal MP Mohammad Al-Saqer to be questioned over a press violation.