Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu has denied having an “India out” agenda and said the island nation has a “serious problem” with the presence of foreign troops on its soil.
Mohammad Muizzu, who is in the US to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, made the remarks while answering a question at Princeton University’s “Dean’s Leadership Series” on Thursday.
“We have not been against any one country at any time. It is not outside India. The Maldives faced a serious problem with the foreign military presence on this soil,” Maldives news portal adhadhu.com quoted him as saying. “
Mohammed Muizzoo said, “The people of Maldives do not want a single foreign soldier in the country.”
Relations between India and Maldives came under severe strain since November last year when Mohammed Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge as President of Maldives.
Mohammad Muizzu had asked India to withdraw around 90 Indian military personnel operating three aviation platforms gifted by the country. India withdrew its military personnel by 10 May and replaced them with civilian personnel to operate one Dornier aircraft and two helicopters.
Mohammad Muizzu further asserted that he has taken action against the deputy ministers for insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.
The report quoted him as saying, “Nobody should say such a thing. I took action against it. I will not accept insulting anyone like this, be it a leader or a common man. Every human being has a dignity.” it occurs.”
Earlier this year, after deputy ministers in the Maldives’ youth ministry were suspended for derogatory social media posts against Prime Minister Modi, New Delhi strongly took up the matter with Male. The deputy ministers criticized Modi for his post on ‘X’ after his visit to Lakshadweep, speculating that it was an attempt to present the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives.
Prime Minister Modi was in Lakshadweep on January 2 and 3 to inaugurate several projects.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
