Former Technology Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal has been suspended from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and placed under investigation by the disciplinary committee over an alleged breach of the party's rules in holding a press conference.
A senior PPM official confirmed Maleeh's suspension to Adhadhu.
Maleeh was also removed from a Whatsapp group of PPM senate members on Tuesday night over the press conference.
The PPM official who spoke to Adhadhu said the press conference led by Maleeh and held at the PPM office on Tuesday night had been called against the party's governing statutes without informing the leadership.
The PPM usually announces press conferences in its WhatsApp media group. But there was no such message about last night's event on the party’s official media channels.
At the press conference - which was led by Maleeh and former Commissioner General of Customs Abbas Adil Riza - Maleeh did not give a clear answer when Adhadhu asked under what capacity they had called the press conference.
When another journalist repeated the same question later, Abbas said the press conference was being held by a steering committee formed by former President Abdulla Yameen, who he said was the highest authority on the administrative management of the PPM.
At the press conference, they mostly noted the need to improve relations between the PPM and the People's National Congress (PNC).
They also called for a stop to PPM members switching to the PNC and called on the government to increase Yameen's role and advice in the administration.
The "Yameen committee" also questioned the number of Indian soldiers in the Maldives disclosed on the second day after the new administration took office.
Abbas also claimed that PPM Secretary General Mohamed Tholal has recused himself from the role and that spokesperson Heena Waleed had resigned.
But both Tholal and Heena have denied the claim.
