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Swamy’s Call To Invade Maldives In Case Of A Rigged Election Stirs Up A Diplomatic Hornet’s Nest
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy addresses during a function at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya. (Shankar Mourya/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
In a damage control measure, the Government of India has disassociated itself from an idea advocated by Senior Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy that India should consider invading the Maldives in case electoral fraud is committed in the upcoming presidential election.
“The opinion expressed by Dr. Swamy in his tweet is personal. It does not reflect the views of the Government of India,” India has said in a statement.
According to The Indian Express, Maldives Foreign Secretary Ahmed Sareer summoned Indian High Commissioner Akhilesh Mishra and conveyed Male’s “displeasure” at Swamy’s tweet. The Maldives government has also submitted a démarche to the Indian government, where it expressed shock at the statement.
Last Friday, after his meeting with Maldives' exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed, Swamy tweeted that “India should invade Maldives if rigging of election takes place”. Nasheed, who stands barred from contesting that election, says the current government is likely rig the upcoming polls.
Swamy's tweet on Friday received widespread condemnation by both the Maldives opposition and the Abdulla Yameen regime.
An unfazed Swamy continued to defend his calls to invade the Maldives saying that the archipelago is under the threat of turning in to an "Islamic terrorist" state if the upcoming presidential elections are rigged.
Swamy also pointed out that India had "invaded" the Maldives when Sri Lankan Tamil Terrorist group People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam led a failed coup in the archipelago nation in 1988.
India’s relations with the Maldives have deteriorated in recent years. Yameen, the current president, has driven the country closer to China.
Also Read: The Maldives Crisis, Explained
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