Finance minister Ahmed Munavvar came out in defence of his recent remarks during the parliamentary state budget review committee on Thursday.
The government's second finance minister after his predecessor Abdulla Jihad replaced embattled Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor as the vice president said the government could snub development projects for constituencies whose lawmakers refuse to vote to pass the state budget.
The young minister's comments had sparked opposition and public outrage with many describing it as blatant attempt at "blackmailing" lawmakers to vote in favour of the proposed state budget for next year.
However, Munavvar in an interview with state-run Public Service Media (PSM) late Saturday insisted that the government had not discriminated in carrying out development projects despite the majority of opposition lawmakers refusing to vote for the budget for the past four years.
"For example if you look at Gaafu Dhaal Thinadhoo island, we've spent over MVR1 billion in the last four years. Or Seenu Atoll where we've carried out projects worth MVR750 million. Numbers don't lie. So regardless of whether they [lawmakers] vote for the budget or not we've always done what these islands need. We've done it in the past and we will continue to do so in future," he stressed.
"The budget is not my personal agenda. It was compiled for the people. But all it got was criticism from the parliament floor and the budget committee."
Munavvar also said that the majority of opposition lawmakers are pushing the government to carry out development projects in their respective constituencies but the opposition keep blocking revenue measures included in the budget.
The minister called on the opposition to cooperate with the government, especially in the measures proposed to generate revenue for the state.
The minister has also attracted intense criticism from the general public across social networking sites. Most people are calling on the government to stop taking taxes insisting that the state is funded by taxpaying citizens without exception.
The government had proposed a MVR28 billion budget for next year which is expected to be passed by the government controlled parliament despite opposition concerns over mounting debt and questionable revenue measures.
