MP Ilyas Labeeb has declared that the Democrats will not allow the passage of the government’s MVR 6.5 billion supplementary budget as tensions grow over the tabled no-confidence motion against Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, who belongs to the Democrats.
Addressing supporters at a membership drive on Thursday, Ilyas lambasted the incumbent MDP administration—out of which the Democrats originally emerged—for what he described as “extreme acts of theft and corruption.”
He drew attention to the alarming increase in the country’s debt, which has surged from MVR 48 billion to a staggering MVR 113 billion under the current government.
“This administration alone has taken on MVR 75 billion in debt. They submit this budget under the guise of rising fuel prices and needs for Aasandha and NSPA. Our Parliament must put a stop to this,” Ilyas cautioned.
The MP didn’t mince words in accusing the MDP government of attempting to add MVR 6 billion more to the national debt just weeks before the end of their term.
“They want to put the incoming administration on its last breath and flee,” he claimed, insisting that the Democrats will use their minority status in Parliament to prevent the budget’s passage.
The Finance Ministry resubmitted the contentious supplementary budget on Thursday. It failed to meet legal requirements the first time around, prompting Parliament to request a complete resubmission.
The revised budget now contains MVR 3.1 billion earmarked for recurrent expenditure and MVR 3.3 billion for capital expenditure. With this supplementary budget, if approved, the state’s total budget for 2023 would soar to MVR 49.3 billion.
Ilyas’s cautionary remarks coincide with a warning from the MDP that the party will abstain from all parliamentary activities until the no-confidence motion is dealt with.