It was going to be a polarizing bill to begin with, given that the issue it attempts to regulate is one of the most divisive in the Greek society. Still, one provision in the Immigration Code caused additional raucous in the House today.

The provision mentions deportation of immigrants if they falsely accuse officers of the state for certain crimes, they can be deported. The exact passage is as follows: “If State institutions are falsely accused for the aforementioned crimes and the false accusation is proven after a preliminary investigation, the accuser is immediately removed from the country”.

The controversy came when opposition Radical Left Coalition SYRIZA party accused the government of threatening to deport anyone accusing the state of racist behavior. The uproar was so intense, that deputy Interior minister Leonidas Grigorakos initially withdrew the provision, although his superior, Interior minister Yiannis Michelakis argued for it.

“It is the state's basic right to protect the people enforcing the law”, he said, adding that the provision aimed at recent incidents when immigrants, tutored by traffickers, falsely accused members of the Port authority of maltreatment and acts of violence.

In a rather unexpected turn, though, the deputy minister reintroduced the provision this afternoon, causing the wrath of SYRIZA MPs. The withdrawal move was applauded by the PASOK socialist party rapporteur earlier and the reintroduction caused a wave of disapproval from the government junior partner too.

SYRIZA is considering asking for a roll call vote when the bill comes in for voting in the general assembly, a move which could compromise the government's majority, should PASOK MPs decide to vote against the code.

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