New Delhi: India on Friday reacted sharply to the media report which claimed the Maldives opposition sought USD 6 million from New Delhi to aid in a plot to impeach Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu. "Both the newspaper and the reporter in question appear to nurse a compulsive hostility towards India. You can see a pattern in their activities. I leave you to judge their credibility. As far as we are concerned, they have none," the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a weekly press briefing on Friday.
Earlier this week, the Washington Post report alleged that India was involved in a plot to impeach the Maldives President. In its report on the Maldives, the Post, citing a document titled "Democratic Renewal Initiative", claimed that opposition politicians proposed bribing 40 members of Parliament, including those from Muizzu's own party, to vote to impeach him. After months of secret talks, the plotters failed to gather enough votes to impeach the president, it said.
Maldives ex-President reject WP report
However, the claim was rejected by the chief of the Maldivian Democratic Party and the country's largest opposition party, Mohamed Nasheed. The former Maldives president stated he was unaware of any "serious plot" against President Muizzu and added that India would never support such a move. "I read with interest today's Washington Post article. I was unaware of any serious plot against the President, though some people always live in conspiracy. India would never back such a move, as they always support Maldives' democracy. India has never dictated terms to us, either," Mohamed Nasheed wrote.
EAM reacts to report mentioning India's operation in Pakistan
"On the article in question, I have already answered. As regards Pakistan, I remind you of what Hillary Clinton said – “You can’t keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours.”
Clinton had made the comments in a blunt message to Pakistan in 2011, when she was serving as the US secretary of state. She had also said that Washington intended to "push the Pakistanis very hard" to remove militant safe havens and tackle groups like the Haqqani network that are responsible for cross-border strikes.
In its report on India's "shadow" operations in Pakistan, the Washington Post, quoting unnamed Pakistani and Western officials, claimed that the Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), is carrying out a programme since 2021 to "kill at least a half a dozen people" inside Pakistan.
(With inputs from agency)
