A day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy called on India to "invade Maldives", the island nation's foreign office summoned Indian Ambassador Akhilesh Mishra on Sunday and lodged a strong protest. This move came despite New Delhi quickly distancing itself from Swamy's post.
In a rare diplomatic stand-off, the Maldivian government also expressed its displeasure over Swamy's tweet, and submitted a demarche to Mishra.
"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 demarche to the Indian government, where it expressed shock at the statement," sources have said.
Local Maldivian media also reported that a formal protest was lodged by the Maldives government. However, no official statements were issued, neither in Male nor New Delhi.
The External Affairs Ministry had already distanced itself from Swamy's tweet, saying it was the MP's "personal opinion". "The opinion expressed by Swamy in his tweet is personal. It does not reflect the views of the Government of India," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar had said.
The tweet that has kicked open the Pandora's Box came from Subramanian Swamy's Twitter handle last week, when he urged India to invade Maldives in case rigging occurs during the upcoming elections in the archipelago. On Sunday, Swamy again posted another tweet on the issue.
Maldives defence minister Adam Shareef Umar posted on Facebook that Maldivians will not allow external powers to interfere with its internal affairs.
A similar controversy had erupted in February, when the Maldivian government functionaries took umbrage at remarks made by former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha, who was then still a member of the BJP. Sinha had then said that India should keep the option of sending troops to Maldives. However, there were no formal protests at the time.
The Tweet
A Pandora’s Box was kicked open when Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy’s urged India to invade Maldives if rigging occurs in the archipelago’s upcoming elections. Maldives defence minister Adam Shareef Umar said Maldivians will not allow external powers to interfere with its internal affairs.
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