NEW DELHI : In a scathing rebuttal, the Maldives Government said India’s description of the 30-day extension of Emergency as "unconstitutional", was "a clear distortion of facts" and accused New Delhi of ignoring "facts and ground realities" in the tiny island nation.
The strongly-worded statement issued by Maldives Foreign Ministry said there was no doubt the country was "experiencing one of the most difficult periods" in its history. It asked friends and partners including India to "refrain from any actions that could hinder resolving the situation facing the country".
This is the first time that crisis-hit Maldives has directly responded to the Indian government’s statement on the imposition of Emergency.
"The Government of Maldives takes note of the public statements issued by the Government of India that ignore the facts and ground realities with regard to the ongoing political developments in the Maldives," the statement said.
New Delhi, which had earlier called the imposition of emergency by the Abdulla Yameen government a "disturbing" development, had yesterday held his government’s decision to extend Emergency to be "in contravention" with its Constitution.
Today, New Delhi reiterated the point, declaring that India "did not see any valid reason" for the Maldives government to extend emergency.
"We… would continue to urge the government of Maldives to release political prisoners, release the Chief Justice, implement the Supreme Court and restore the normal functioning of the institutions of democracy," Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson of India’s Foreign Ministry said.
