Maldives: Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu has given a big statement regarding his predecessor. He said his predecessor Ibrahim Mohammad Solih had acted on the orders of a ‘foreign ambassador’. In the interview given to the state-run Public Service Media (PSM), he did not take the name of any country or diplomat, but it is expected that he said this about India.
Actually, Mohammad Muizzu was running India Out campaign in his election campaign itself. In New Delhi, Muizzu is seen as a pro-China leader. As soon as he became President last year, Muizzu started feuding with India and started strengthening friendship with China. Now the opposition party MDP is cornering Muizzu regarding the recent elections, MDP has raised questions regarding the recent drone agreement between Maldives and Turkey. Responding to this on Thursday, Muizzu said that this is a deal related to the defense of the country, which cannot be disclosed. He said that he is dependent on the army officers for this deal.
Accused of working on the orders of a foreign ambassador
Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had a majority in parliament, but it failed to protect the independence of the Maldives and left the country ‘in the hands of a foreign country,’ Muizzu said in the interview. Mohammad Muizzu said Solih acted on the orders of a foreign ambassador during 2018-23 and this resulted in ‘extensive damage’. Muizzu said, ‘We had lost freedom in all senses, including economic.
In fact, Solih’s government had implemented the ‘India First’ policy and was taking advantage of India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy. During Solih’s tenure, New Delhi spent billions of dollars in development and infrastructure projects. Whereas Muizzju sees this thing as slavery, Muizzju even started an India Out campaign against it. India has not yet publicly criticized Muizzu’s pro-China leanings, but is carefully monitoring the growing closeness between Male and Beijing.
Politics of accusation and counter-accusation in Maldives
The People’s National Congress (PNC) in Maldives accuses the former government of being overly dependent on India. On the other hand, Solih accuses current President Muizzu of ruining centuries-old relations with India and promoting closer relations with China.
