“Internal Matter”: India On Maldives Opposition’s Move To Impeach President Muizzu

India on Thursday refused to comment on the internal political situation in the Maldives.

The island nation has been reeling under political upheaval with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) planning to impeach President Mohamed Muizzu over his government’s handling of certain thorny issues.

“These are internal matters of Maldives and we would not like to comment on them,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

He was replying to questions relating to the political situation in the Maldives, during a media briefing.

The MDP announced plans to impeach the president after clashes broke out in Parliament on Sunday between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers over differences over the approval to four members of Muizzu’s cabinet.

Muizzu, 45, defeated India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential runoff held in September last year.

The ties between India and the Maldives are witnessing some strain since he came to power in November.

Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, maintained after assuming charge as the president that he will keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel from his country.

Last month, the Maldivian president asked India to withdraw all Indian military personnel deployed in the island nation by March 15 even as the two sides held the first meeting of “High-Level Core Group” in Male that primarily focused on the contentious issue.

Asked about the visit of a Chinese survey vessel to the Maldives, Jaiswal said India always keeps a close eye on developments that impact its economic and security interests.