President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu must apologize over indirect verbal attacks aimed at India two weeks ago following the conclusion of his state visit to China, Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Qasim Ibrahim said on Sunday.
Speaking at the Velana International Airport (VIA) on January 13, Muizzu said Maldives is not in the backyard of any particular country and that Maldives will not allow other countries to "bully".
Qasim told reporters after the JP council meeting on Sunday that the President must apologize for his remarks.
“I would like to request President Muizzu to formally and professionally apologize to the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi for those four points he raised in his interview following the China trip," Qasim said.
The business tycoon and MP claimed that Muizzu made the remarks out of emotion and the first politician to pin the "India Out" badge was former President Abdulla Yameen.
"Yameen began India Out to create that unrest, to create division between the people of Maldives and the people of India. Former President Solih did not take action and let them carry it out without any limits," he accused.
Solih banned the "India Out" movement after it expanded, he added.
Briefing reporters after the China visit, President Muizzu said he would end Maldives' dependence on India in various sectors and promised to stop bringing medicine from India and depending on India for medical treatment.
“We will hopefully stop bringing low-quality medicine and opt to bring medicine directly from the original manufacturer. We will hopefully change it to import medicine from Europe and the US."
But Qasim said India is advanced in the field of medicine and that some drugs are imported to Europe from India.
