A Maldivian minister, who was suspended in January for her derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has now mocked the Indian flag after including parts of the flag in an altered campaign poster of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), according to a media report on Monday.
The Maldives Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Qasim Ibrahim called on Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu to formally apologize to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India, Voice of Maldives, a Maldivian digital news outlet, reported.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's party secured a 'supermajority' in Parliament by winning over 60 seats in Sunday's crucial parliamentary election, seen as a litmus test for the pro-Beijing politician whose policies are being closely watched by both India and China amidst regional power dynamics.
The Maldives media reported Azim's win as a 'landslide' and 'victory by a large margin.'
Muizzu, considered to be close to China, defeated India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential runoff held in September last year.
The Maldivian Democratic Party has claimed that Mohammad Nasheed was forced to resign as president by the military, which threatened a bloodbath in the capital if he did not step down. B Raman reports
Ousted President Mohamed Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party on Monday ruled out any participation in the new unity government but offered to join conditional talks with the new President to end the political crisis. In a statement, the MDP has made it clear that the party will not participate in the National Unification Government, which was formed under new President Mohamed Waheed Hassan. The MDP said that it can join the reconciliation talks to end the political crisis.
Former Prez made these remarks days after Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, urged India to provide debt relief to the archipelago nation.
Making it clear that the elections would be held as per schedule in 2013, Maldives' new President Mohammed Waheed Hassan has asked ousted leader Mohammad Nasheed's MDP to join the national unity government, an offer which was turned down by the party demanding snap polls.
The attorney general's office filed the case on Sunday, the same day when clashes broke out in the House between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers following differences over the approval of four members of his cabinet.
Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Mohamed Muizzu, won the Maldivian presidential elections on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported citing local media.
The parliamentary election result was also to prove that the Maldivians want "autonomy in choosing their future, without foreign coercion," President Muizzu said, without naming any country, according to the Sun.mv news portal.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday concluded a crucial visit to Male, assuring the country's top leadership that the Maldives remains an important partner of India in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region.
The development comes a day after clashes broke out in Parliament on Sunday between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers over differences over the approval of four members of the pro-China President's cabinet.
Dejected by the cold shoulder given by India, ousted Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed said on Tuesday that New Delhi has taken his party "for granted" and may lose "leverage" to China under the new regime.
Maldives' new regime has appointed a commission to probe allegations of coup against it following President Mohammed Nasheed's ouster, Male's envoy said on Wednesday, while accusing the toppled leader's Maldivian Democratic Party of reneging on an India-brokered deal to resolve the political impasse.
Hundreds of supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Nasheed gathered outside the Majlis for a second time in the day on Sunday raising slogans against the current regime of Mohammed Waheed Hassan.
After two tumultuous sittings marred by protests by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, Maldives' parliament commenced its first session of the year on Monday, indicating that the new government may finally be getting on with work.
The EU mission noted that political and campaign fundraising and financial expenditure lack transparency and effective oversight.
On being asked if the ongoing spat between the two countries is going to have an impact on the India-Maldives ties, as well the revenue that Indian tourists have generated for the island nation over the years, the Maldivian leader, who was also the former Minister of Economic Development of Maldives, asserted that it is much more than economics or revenue.
Angry lawmakers of former President Mohammed Nasheed's party on Thursday prevented the new President from delivering the opening address in Parliament even as protesters hit the streets clashing with police, deepening the political crisis.
Maldives' former president Mohamed Nasheed wants a foreign body to probe the circumstances of the coup that ousted him in February and plunged the country into a political crisis. Nasheed told a news conference that his Maldivian Democratic Party is considering requesting a "foreign organisation" to look into the incidents of February 7 impartially. He did not elaborate over which foreign body his party wanted to approach.
Fresh violence erupted in Maldives including inside the parliament that was scheduled to open on Thursday with supporters of former president Mohammed Nasheed attacking the police and preventing President Mohammed Waheed Hassan from making his opening address.
Nasreen, who served as the director of the Indian Cultural Centre at the high commission of India in Male, Republic of Maldives, from 2019 to 2023, shared insights into the growing influence of China and Pakistan in countering India's soft power.
In its hurried recognition of the new government in Male, has India lost sight of the ground realities in Maldives?
A delegation of the Progressive Party of Maldives led by its presidential candidate, Abdulla Yamin Abdul Gayoom called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday.
Mohammed Nasheed, sentenced to 13 years in jail under anti-terrorism laws, will have a furnished air-conditioned prison.
Maldivian President Mohammed Waheed on Wednesday said that all the three candidates for the country's controversy-ridden presidential election have reached a consensus on holding the poll on November 9.
Exiled ex-Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on Thursday declared that he would return to his country and run for presidency in elections next year, as he asserted that India will be "mindful of assisting democracy".
This is Modi's first visit to the Maldives as prime minister. The last visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Indian Ocean island nation was by Manmohan Singh in 2011.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth are set to be invited to Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
In a statement on Sunday, the Maldivian foreign ministry said they were aware of the "derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit to Maldives on March 15 is under shadow because of troubled situation in the island nation after the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed earlier this week.
China's stand is that relevant parties should find a solution internally.
India on Saturday voiced "deep concern" over the developments in the Maldives, a day after former president Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by a criminal court of that country under anti-terror laws.
Would it serve India's interest to go to war with China over the Maldives, asks Aditi Phadnis.
Maldives on Friday affirmed that the controversy-ridden presidential polls set for Saturday will go ahead in order to avert a constitutional crisis.
Opposition leaders across the Maldives are being rounded up and placed under detention as draconian measures are being put in place by President Abdulla Yameen.
For India to view the new Sri Lankan leadership only through the prism of the past or through their narrow view on China, is fraught with possibilities that should be avoided, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Agreements signed between the Maldives and China have seriously worried India.'
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