A Maldives Jumhooree Party (JP) leader, Qasim Ibrahim, has urged Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu to formally apologise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India.

This comes as the country’s main opoosition MDP, which holds a majority in the Maldivian Parliament, said it plans to submit a motion to impeach their President – a development that followed clashes that  broke out in the House between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers following differences over the approval of four members of his cabinet.

“Regarding any country, especially a neighbouring one, we shouldn’t speak in a way that affects the relationship. We have an obligation to our state that must be considered. President Solih did consider this obligation and issued a Presidential Decree banning the “India Out” campaign. Now, Yameen (former president Abdulla Yameen) is questioning why Muizzu, who participated with him in the India Out Campaign, has not nullified the Presidential Decree,” he said.

He added, “The Decree should not be nullified, as it would only result in a loss to the nation. That cannot be done. I would tell Muizzu that it shouldn’t be done. Also, I call on President Muizzu to formally apologise to the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi regarding his remarks after the China trip.”

Earlier last year, then Maldives President Ibrahim Solih signed a decree stating that the opposition’s ‘India Out’ campaign is a “threat to national security”. This allows security agencies to take down campaign banners and provides constitutional cover to take action against opposition parties.

The opposition, led by former president Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) was spearheading an ‘India Out’ campaign for over the last year propagating the unproven claim that Indian military officers stationed in the Indian Ocean island nation are a violation of Maldives’ sovereignty.

The campaign’s implicit target was then Maldivian President Solih and the Maldivian Democratic Party, both perceived as close to India.

Notably, Solih was one of the prominent Maldives leader to condemn the derogatory remarks made by some junior ministers which led to a diplomatic standoff between the two nations.India and the Maldives on January 14 “agreed to fast-track the withdrawal of Indian military personnel” from the island nation, according to the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The removal of Indian troops in the Maldives was the main campaign plank of Muizzu’s party during the presidential elections. Currently, there are around 70 Indian troops, along with Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters, stationed On the second day of assuming office, Muizzu officially requested the Indian government to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives.

Apart from the call for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel, a massive row erupted 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 and call to development the Indian archipelago as a global retreat for beach tourism.

The Maldives government, however, distanced itself from the remarks.

The cycle of violence in Manipur continued on Tuesday with two people dying and at least five – including a top BJP youth leader from the state – getting injured in fresh firing between two groups. 

Police sources said the exchange of fire broke out at Koutruk village in Imphal West district and that the number of deaths is likely to go up. At least one person is also said to be missing. 

Manoharmayum Barish Sharma, a former president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha – the youth wing of the BJP – sustained injuries in the firing and has been rushed to a hospital. 

The sources said the gunfight erupted between village volunteers of two communities on the border of the Imphal West and Kangpokpi districts. There are also reports of residents fleeing the Kadangband, Koutruk and Kangchup villages in the Imphal valley following the fresh violence.

Tuesday’s incident comes just two days after a village defence volunteer was killed and four people were injured in a gunfight between two armed groups in an area between state capital Imphal and Kangpokpi district.

Over 180 people have lost their lives and more than 3,000 have been injured in the violence in Manipur, which began on May 3 last year, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Thousands have also been displaced and the opposition has been questioning why the violence has gone on for over eight months despite at least 60,000 personnel from the central security forces being posted in the state.

Another controversy has engulfed Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district on the heels of the Mandya flag controversy. This involved the removal of a right wing flag and a board bearing the name of right wing icon VD Savarkar. A protest took place over the removal in Bhatkal’s Tenginagundi today and the local BJP workers and panchayat members got into an altercation with panchayat officials.

The workers argued that VD Savarkar’s name board was installed with the approval of the panchayat, and they protested against the removal of the flagpole with the right wing flags.

The officials claimed that no permission was sought from the gram panchayat.

“Don’t think we are sitting quiet. We have permission. Is it a Pakistan flag that we put up? Who gave you the order to raze this?” said one of the angry villagers.

The Zilla Panchayat chief, along with senior authorities, decided to issue notices for all such structures built in the area under the panchayat. They will be allowed to stay only if they have the necessary permissions from local administration or local taluks.

If the mandatory documents are not produced within 15 days, the structures will be razed.

“We have decided to issue notices to all such structures in that panchayat. If they have the necessary permissions from local administration or local taluks, they will be considered.
Otherwise, 15 days time will be given to produce documents. If not, unauthorised structures and nameboards will be removed,” said Ishwar Kumar, the chief of Zilla Parishad.

Last week, a saffron Hanuman flag hoisted by a local religious organisation, was taken down leading to huge row in the village of Keragodu and nearby areas of Mandya district.

It led to widespread protests that escalated into a political conflict between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) of HD Kumaraswamy.

The flag was funded and set up by a section of villagers near a temple. Reports indicated the BJP and JDS were also involved.

But many people held protests and complained to the district administration, which later removed the flag.