Weeks ahead of his expected visit to New Delhi, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has denied having followed an ‘India Out’ policy, while asserting that the archipelago had a “serious problem” with the presence of foreign military on its soil.
“We have never been against any one country at any point. It’s not India Out. Maldives faced a serious problem with foreign military presence on this soil,” Maldivian news portal adhadhu.com quoted him as saying.
“The people of Maldives do not want a single foreign soldier in the country,” Muizzu said.
His remarks came on Thursday while responding to a question at Princeton University’s “Dean’s Leadership Series”. Muizzu is in the US to attend the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Muizzu further stressed that he had taken action against deputy ministers for insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. “No one should say such a thing. I took action against it. I will not accept insulting anyone like that, whether he is a leader or an ordinary person. Every human being has a reputation,” he said.
PM Modi was in Lakshadweep on January 2 and 3 to inaugurate several projects. Following the visit, deputy ministers in Maldives’ youth ministry criticised Modi on social media platforms for his post on ‘X’. stating that it was an attempt to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives.
The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since November last year when Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge as Maldivian president riding on an ‘India Out’ plank.
A day after he was sworn in as President, Muizzu “formally requested” the Indian government to “withdraw its military personnel” from the island nation.
India withdrew its military personnel by May 10 and replaced them with civilian personnel to operate a Dornier aircraft and two helicopters.
The India Out campaign had begun in 2020 as the Maldives opposition’s protest against then President Ibrahim Solih’s policies that were perceived to be friendly towards New Delhi, but had soon turned into a movement against India’s alleged military presence in the archipelago, which both the Solih government and India denied.
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