Swamy issued a clarification that these statements were strictly personal and not reflective of the government's stand
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy landed himself in the middle of a controversy yet again; this time with his remarks on India invading the Maldives. He added fuel to fire on Tuesday when he reiterated his stance, saying invasion will be necessary in case the forthcoming presidential elections in the island nation are rigged.
Clarifying that these statements were strictly personal and not reflective of the government's stand, Swamy said, “Indian citizens in the Maldives cannot be ill-treated. All kinds of ugly notices have been put up there, and if on top of that, they rig the elections, I think India has a responsibility to protect those citizens, for which an invasion is necessary.”
‘India should invade the Maldives’
A week ago, Swamy tweeted from his account, alleging gross rigging of the forthcoming elections in the Maldives. He said, “In Colombo today, I had a chance to meet former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed. He is apprehensive of gross rigging in their forthcoming elections. India cannot allow that as a neighbour and also since current usurper President Yamin has humiliated Indians recently. We need an action plan. (sic)”
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Why is the present Govt of Maldives upset by my “If then” statement that if Maldive’s Sept 24th general election is rigged then India should invade that nation? Already Indians in that nation are fearing reprisals. We have to protect our citizens.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) August 26, 2018
Not just him, even the BJP government at the Centre faced a huge backlash for Swamy’s statement. The Ministry of External Affairs issued a clarification on Sunday, saying, “The opinion expressed by Swamy in his tweet was personal and does not reflect the view of the government."
Even after the government distanced itself from the statement, the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Akhilesh Mishra, was summoned by the island country’s government. Maldivian foreign minister Ahmed Sareer spoke to Mishra, conveying Male’s displeasure at Swamy’s comment. The government has also submitted a demarche to the Indian government, expressing shock at the statement.
Relations between India and the Maldives had soured after President Yameen imposed an Emergency and arrested judges of the Supreme Court. India had criticised the government after the move and urged it to restore the credibility of the electoral and political processes.