Weeks ahead of his expected visit to New Delhi, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has denied following an ‘India Out’ policy, while saying the archipelago has a “big problem” with the presence of foreign troops on its soil.
“We have never faced one country at any time. It is not India Out. The Maldives has faced a major problem with the presence of foreign troops in the country,” Maldivian news website adhadu.com quoted him as saying.
“The people of Maldives do not want a single foreign soldier in the country,” said Muizzu.
He said this on Thursday when he answered a question from the “Dean’s Leadership Series” of Princeton University. Muizzu is in the US to attend the 79th Session of the United Nations.
Muizzu also emphasized that he has taken action against the deputy ministers for insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. “No one should say such a thing. I took steps for you. I will not accept being disrespected like that, whether you are a leader or just an ordinary person. Everyone has dignity,” he said.
PM Modi was in Lakshadweep on January 2 and 3 to launch several projects. After the trip, the deputy ministers of the youth wing of the Maldives criticized Modi on social media for his ‘X’ message. stating that it was an attempt to present the Union Territory as an alternative destination for tourists to the Maldives.
Relations between India and the Maldives have been under strain since November last year when Muizzu, who is known to support China, took over as the Maldivian president on the ‘India Out’ plank.
A day after he was sworn in as President, Muizzu “officially requested” the Indian government to “withdraw its troops” from this island nation.
India withdrew its military personnel on May 10 and replaced them with redundant personnel to operate a Dornier aircraft and two helicopters.
The India Out campaign started in 2020 as a protest by the Maldivian dissidents against the policies of the then President Ibrahim Solih which were thought to be friendly to New Delhi, but soon turned into a movement against the alleged presence of the Indian military in the islands, Solih’s government. and India refused.