‘Never followed 'India Out' agenda, Don’t Want Foreign Soldiers On Our Soil’: Maldives Prez Muizzu

Male: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has denied any assertions about the "India Out" agenda saying that the island nation had a "serious problem" with the presence of foreign military on its soil.

Muizzu, who is in the US to attend the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, made the remarks on Thursday while responding to a question at Princeton University's “Dean’s Leadership Series”.

"We have never been against any one country at any point. It's not India Out. Maldives faced a serious problem with foreign military presence on this soil," Muizzu was quoted as saying by Maldivian news portal adhadhu.com.

Maldivians Don’t Want Presence of Foreign Soldiers 

"The people of Maldives do not want a single foreign soldier in the country," Muizzu said.

The relationship between India and the Maldives has faced significant challenges since November when Muizzu, who has pro-China inclinations, assumed the presidency.

Muizzu requested the withdrawal of nearly 90 Indian military personnel who were operating three aviation platforms gifted by India. By May 10, India complied and replaced the military personnel with civilians to operate a Dornier aircraft and two helicopters.

Additionally, Muizzu emphasized that he had taken measures against deputy ministers for their derogatory comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

"No one should say such a thing. I took action against it. I will not accept insulting anyone like that, whether he is a leader or an ordinary person. Every human being has a reputation," the report quoted him as saying.

Earlier this year, deputy ministers in Maldives' youth ministry were suspended for derogatory social media posts against Prime Minister Modi following a backlash, with New Delhi strongly raising the matter with Male. 

The deputy ministers criticised Modi for his post on 'X' following his visit to Lakshadweep, inferring that it was an attempt to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives.

Prime Minister Modi was in Lakshadweep on January 2 and 3 to inaugurate several projects. 

(With inputs from PTI)