"Everything is good..." Maldivian envoy on Delhi-Male relations
Jan 31, 2024
New Delhi [India], January 31 : Maldives Envoy to India, Ibrahim Shaheeb on Wednesday said that the relations between Male and Delhi are 'good'.
The Maldives High Commissioner to India was invited to attend President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, which marked the commencement of the Budget session.
"Everything is good..." he told ANI on being asked about the relations between the two countris.
A huge diplomatic row had erupted between India and Maldives after a Maldivian deputy minister, along with other cabinet members and government officials, made disparaging and unsavoury references to Primer Minister Narendra Modi's recent Lakshadweep visit.
The Maldives government, however, distanced itself from the remarks and suspended the three ministers.
Meanwhile in the Maldives, the main opposition MDP - which holds a majority in the Parliament - has gathered enough signatures to submit a motion to impeach President Mohamed Muizzu but is yet to submit it.
According to a report in the Maldives Sun, Jumhoory Party leader Qasim Ibrahim said any attempt to impeach President Muizzu would be equal to "kicking" the will of the Maldivian people.
Qasim, whose party is aligned with the ruling PPM-PNC coalition, called on the opposition for an "unconditional" cease in its impeachment efforts.
"Impeaching the President of the Republic or even attempting to do so without any justification, with the intent of political retaliation and to come to power themselves, is nothing more than kicking the will of the people," he said.
The Maldives Parliament's standing orders were recently amended to lower the number of votes required to pass an impeachment motion.
Which means that the MDP and Democrats, which have 56 votes between them, can impeach the president if they wish.
The Attorney General's Office has contested the amendment with the Supreme Court, arguing that the Parliament did not have the authority to make the change.
Meanwhile main opposition party the MDP accused President Muizzu's administration of protecting criminals on Wednesday. The MDP made the accusation in a statement condemning the attack on Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem on Wednesday.
In a post on X, former Maldivian president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the interim leader of MDP, described the attack as "politically motivated."
Earlier in what was seen as an effort to douse tensions, President Muizzu send messages to President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi greeting the nation on Republic Day.
The Maldivian President, conveyed well wishes from the Government and the people of the Maldives to the Government and the people of India. President Muizzu, spoke of Maldives-India bond nurtured by centuries of friendship.