President Mohamed Muizzu has ordered Maafannu Central MP Asma Rasheed to publicly apologize for a message to her constituents which "tarnished him."
Muizzu has been meeting the people of Male' and is scheduled to meet people from Maafannu district on December 4. Some people are given the opportunity to ask questions during these meetings.
In the message sent to the people of Maafannu Central, Asma asked her constituents to let her know the people who want to question the President and share their questions with her.
When the message was reported, Muizzu faced criticism from the public. He was annoyed by the criticism and sacked Asma as Chairperson of the parliament's Social Affairs Committee and as Chairperson of the UK-Maldives Friendship Group. Asma's scheduled trip to the UK was also cancelled.
Some people close to Asma said they believed the measures were taken on Muizzu's orders.
“The proof is the messages sent directly by the President to the WhatsApp group of MPs,” a source close to Asma said.
The messages were received by Adhadhu.
In his first message, Muizzu tagged Asma and said that her message has wrongly blamed him.
"So publicly apologize for the message sent to everyone in the constituency. I have been wrongly blamed because of that message," Muizzu wrote.
"Tell them it was your personal message, and without any consultation with me."
In the second message, Muizzu said that he had no concerns about the questions and that Asma's message had tarnished his meetings with the people.
"I am not a person who worries about anyone asking any questions. I am holding meetings openly and this message has tarnished it. I am extremely disappointed with you, Asma," Muizzu said in his message.
Following Muizzu's messages, Asma issued a statement in the parliament's letterhead on Friday night.
Asma, who is one of the most senior MPs belonging to the ruling People's National Congress (PNC), is critical of the party's internal mismanagement.
She earlier said the party's campaign hall was used when people's personal information was stolen and used to submit fake forms to the Elections Commission during a membership drive.
As the local council elections approach, Muizzu has started a series of meetings with the people of Male'. Meetings have already been held in Villimale' and Mahchangolhi.
He did not respond to many of the people's concerns and questions during the meeting in Mahchangolhi district.
