A newspaper editorial has kicked up a fresh political storm in the Maldives, which portrays Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a Hindu extremist who is also anti-Muslim.
In an editorial in Dhivehi language went on to describe India as the biggest enemy nation and said that a “new best friend” be found for the Maldives in China.
A unified opposition strongly protested against the “outrageous” article in the newspaper which, it said, had appeared in a mouthpiece of President Yameen and whose editorials were routinely approved by the President’s office before publication.
The opposition led by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) believes this latest display of hostility should alert India about the dangers of overindulging the Yameen administration.
Exactly what India can do remains in the realm of speculation though with the Maldives’ government bent on playing China against India in the strategically located archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
The editorial in fact also accused India of plotting a coup against the Yameen government. It also accused India of acting against international law in Kashmir and of arming “Tamil terrorists” in Sri Lanka.
The Maldives remains the only country in the neighborhood which Modi is yet to visit. Indian officials here seemed taken aback by the attack on the PM even though they avoided making any comment.
India had only last week reminded Male of its stated India First policy with the MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar saying that India expected the Maldives to be sensitive to its concerns. This was after Male signed an FTA with China without taking the opposition into confidence and rushing it through the Parliamentary approval process. Days later, the government suspended 3 councilors for having an “unauthorized” meeting with Indian ambassador Akhilesh Mishra.
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