'Shouldn't speak in a way that affects relationship': Maldives opposition leader calls on Muizzu to apologise to PM Modi

Leader of the Maldives Jumhooree Party (JP) Qasim Ibrahim has urged Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu to issue a formal apology to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the citizens of India, according to a report. “Regarding any country, especially a neighbouring one, we shouldn’t speak in a way that affects the relationship. We have an obligation to our state that must be considered. President Solih did consider this obligation and issued a Presidential Decree banning the ‘India Out’ campaign. Now, Yameen is questioning why Muizzu, who participated with him in the India Out Campaign, has not nullified the Presidential Decree,” Voice of Maldives, a Maldivian digital news outlet, quoted Ibrahim as saying. Ibrahim said that the Presidential Decree should not be nullified as it would only result in a loss to the nation. “That cannot be done. I would tell Muizzu that it shouldn’t be done. Also, I call on President Muizzu to formally apologise to the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi regarding his remarks after the China trip,” Ibrahim added. Earlier last year,  then Maldives President Ibrahim Solih signed a decree stating that the opposition’s ‘India Out’ campaign is a “threat to national security”. This allows security agencies to take down campaign banners and provides constitutional cover to take action against opposition parties. The opposition, led by former president Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) was spearheading an ‘India Out’ campaign for over the last year propagating the unproven claim that Indian military officers stationed in the Indian Ocean island nation are a violation of Maldives’ sovereignty. The campaign’s implicit target was the then Maldivian President Solih and the Maldivian Democratic Party, both perceived as close to India. Notably, Solih was one of the prominent Maldives leader to condemn the derogatory remarks made by some junior ministers which led to a diplomatic standoff between the two nations. India and the Maldives on January 14 “agreed to fast-track the withdrawal of Indian military personnel” from the island nation, according to the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The removal of Indian troops in the Maldives was the main campaign plank of Muizzu’s party during the presidential elections. Currently, there are around 70 Indian troops, along with Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters, stationed in the country. On the second day of assuming office, Muizzu officially requested the Indian government to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives. Apart from the call for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel, a massive row erupted after a Maldivian deputy minister, along with other cabinet members and government officials, made disparaging and unsavoury references to PM Modi’s recent Lakshadweep visit and call to develop the Indian archipelago as a global retreat for beach tourism. The Maldives government, however, distanced itself from the remarks. With inputs from agencies