Maldivian Prez Muizzu’s ‘India Out’ Campaign In Question Amid Renewed New Delhi Ties

Picture source: ANI

Former Maldivian president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday criticised the ruling administration and President Mohammad Muizzu on his decision to proceed with the same agreements that his party PNC described as a national security threat during the 2023 presidential campaign. 

Muizzu, who returned from a five-day state visit to India last week, has expressed gratitude for India’s financial assistance and its consistent support, especially during challenging times. 

Pro-China Muizzu had assumed office last November riding on the back of an aggressive ‘India Out’ campaign. Within hours of taking oath, he had asked India to repatriate its military personnel from the three platforms in the archipelagic nation. 

During the presidential campaign in 2023, he had been a severe critic of India and objected to several of the projects being done with the help of the Indian government. 

After mutual agreement, close to 90 personnel were repatriated by May 10 this year. 

Solih said that Muizzu expressed support for several Maldives-India initiatives incepted during the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration, the same one that his party People’s National Congress (PNC) had strongly opposed in the past, and gave multiple examples. 

These included a project to develop a harbour and dockyard at the Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) military base, the project to expand the Hanimaadhoo airport, and plans to open an Indian consulate in the southern Maldivian city of Addu. 

News portal Sun.mv said Solih, while attending MDP’s ‘Laamarukazee Gulhun’ conference in Kulhudhuffushi City, said that it shows that the promises and the claims President Muizzu made during his presidential campaign were baseless. 

“What did they not say about our neighbouring countries? About the leaders of these countries? What filth did they not spread? The damage they caused this country and its people with this is incalculable,” Solih said. 

Solih said that when his administration attempted to develop Hanimaadhoo, top PNC officials claimed there were armed Indian soldiers operating in the island. 

“But they went there recently to claim the new runway built there? But what were they saying back then? They said we were attempting to build an Indian settlement there. But it’s like they never said any of that. There suddenly aren’t any of those supposed armed soldiers there now,” he said. 

Solih said that the government was continuing with the project without a change to “so much as a letter” of the agreement signed during his administration. 

He then talked about the UTF agreement. 

Solih said that the project was initiated by his administration with the support of the Indian government because of an urgent need to enhance the Maldives National Defence Force’s operational capabilities. 

But at the time, PNC officials accused it of being an attempt to build a de facto Indian naval base in the Maldives and led protests against the deal. 

Solih said that the PNC officials had also objected to plans to build an Indian consulate in Addu, describing it as a listening post for the Indian foreign intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). 

Last week, as Muizzu completed his first state visit to India from October 6 to 10, the main opposition too took a swipe at his “naive and inexperienced” administration and said it has now realised that diplomacy cannot be conducted through “lies and deceit”. 

Former president Mohamed Nasheed echoed the sentiment, terming India and Maldives as natural partners while referring to Muizzu’s meetings with the Indian leadership in New Delhi. 

The relations between the two South Asian nations further turned sour when two Maldivian ministers poked fun after Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted photographs of Lakshadweep Islands in January this year. Indian tourists announced a mass boycott of Maldives leading it to slide to the number six spot in mid-2024 from the number one spot in post-Covid years.