'Seek forgiveness from India, apologise to PM Modi,' Maldives opposition MP asks President Muizzu

The chief of an opposition party in the Maldives has asked Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu to apologise to India for his comments. Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Qasim Ibrahim said Muizzu must formally apologize to India and Prime Minister Modi for his verbal attacks aimed at India two weeks ago following the conclusion of his state visit to China.

Also read: 'We should not be scared of China': Jaishankar reacts to 'India Out' campaign in Maldives, Bangladesh

Muizzu, under whose watch relation between Male and New Delhi has taken a hit, on January 13 said the Maldives is not in the backyard of any particular country and that the Maldives will not allow other countries to "bully".

Qasim expressed concern over the comments and urged President Muizzu to seek forgiveness from India for the indirect attacks, reported Maldives Voice. 

The opposition MP said Muizzu made the remarks out of emotion and the first politician to pin the "India Out" badge was former President Abdulla Yameen, who was also pro-China. Yameen served as president of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018.

"Yameen began India Out to create that unrest, to create division between the people of Maldives and the people of India. Former President Solih did not take action and let them carry it out without any limits," he said, adding that Solih banned the "India Out" campaign.

Also read: Maldives’ opposition parties express concerns over its govt’s ‘anti-India’ stance

Muizzu, after returning from his China visit, said he would end Maldives' dependence on India in various sectors including medical treatment. "We will hopefully stop bringing low-quality medicine and opt to bring medicine directly from the original manufacturer. We will hopefully change it to import medicine from Europe and the US," he had said. 

However, Qasim said India is advanced in the field of medicine and that some drugs are imported to Europe from India. "India is at a higher level in those fields, and they even export medicine to Europe, so we can't do that."

Meanwhile, the opposition parties have moved to impeach Muizzu. The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Monday said that it was working together with The Democrats to impeach Muizzu. 

The opposition parties moved to impeach the President after MPs from the ruling coalition obstructed Parliament sittings over the decision to reject some ministerial appointees.