The steering committee appointed by former President Abdulla Yameen to run the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has questioned the government's claim that the number of Indian troops in Maldives is 77.
The PPM-led "India Out" campaign claimed that thousands of Indian troops were stationed in the Maldives. But the government this week disclosed that 77 Indian soldiers were in the Maldives.
When questioned about the figure at a press conference on Tuesday night, PPM member Abbas Adil Riza said putting the figure at just 77 is a "joke". He linked the reason for this to the agreements signed by the previous government with India.
Under Secretary for Public Policy at the President’s Office, Mohamed Firzul earlier said that more than 100 agreements have been signed with India, excluding the agreements for implementation of projects.
However, he did not give further details of the agreements, saying information would be disclosed after examining all the agreements.
Abbas alleged that all these agreements were made in secret without the consent of the parliament.
"Article 115 of the Constitution states that if the President has any agreement with a foreign party and if there is any obligation on the people, it should be sent to Parliament for approval. The 100 agreements have been made in secret," he said.
Abbas added that the figure disclosed by the government is the number of Indian troops stationed to operate the Dornier aircraft and helicopters. He said the exact number of Indian troops would be known only after the agreements made by the previous government were examined and publicized.
"There are radars. There are Indians who are monitoring the radars in many places. A big military airport is being built in Hanimaadhoo. This is a military airport. The airport agreement must be disclosed to us. They are in Uthuru Thila Falhu as well. That agreement should also be disclosed to us," he said.
The disclosure of the agreements signed with India by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's government is an important promise of this government. The foundation of the campaign was also on the withdrawal of Indian troops.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has asked the Indian government to withdraw Indian troops, but, the government has said that the agreements will be disclosed if they do not contain information important for national security.
"Yameen committee" to run PPM?
The politicians present at Tuesday night's press briefing said they were appointed by the party's leader to handle the day-to-day affairs of the party.
"As you know, Heena Waleed has resigned as spokesperson. And the secretary general [Mohamed Tholal] has excused himself from running the day-to-day affairs of the party," Abbas said.
Abbas said the Secretary General had informed Yameen that he was recusing himself from running the party on a daily basis.
"Therefore, the PPM President, President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has formed a temporary steering committee under the authority given to him by the party's constitution," Abbas said.
The meeting, which took place at the PPM office tonight, was not announced by the party’s official media channels. The party did not share information about the meeting in its WhatsApp group.
However, Heena denied resigning from her post and Tholal denied recusing himself from the party work.
"I have not excused myself from the daily affairs of the party. I have not said that I cannot perform the duties of SG... It is a blatant lie," Tholal said.
