The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said it was inquiring into why and how a Maldivian MP was denied entry at the Chennai airport, PTI reported. On June 4, authorities at the Chennai airport sent Maldivian MP Ahmed Nihan back, prompting him to accuse India of bullying the island nation.
“We are trying to find out how this happened,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. “We will share information when we have it.”
Nihan, a leader in the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives, had come to India for medical consultations, media reports said.
On Tuesday, the Maldivian government took up the matter with Akhilesh Mishra, the Indian ambassador in Male, the island nation’s envoy Ahmed Mohamed told The Indian Express. Mohamed himself raised the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday, he said.
Tense bilateral relations
New Delhi’s relations with Male had suffered a setback after the island nation signed a free trade agreement with China in 2017, which prompted India to remind Maldives of its “India First” policy. After India criticised the state of emergency imposed in Maldives in February, Chinese state media reacted, saying New Delhi should not interfere in the affairs of the Maldives. Maldives, too, rebuked India for stating that the emergency was unconstitutional.
On February 27, Maldives said it had to turn down India’s invitation to participate in a joint naval exercise in March because of the emergency situation at home. The island nation, in a statement, maintained that it shared a “long history of excellent defence and military cooperation” with India.
In May, Indian Navy Chief Sunil Lanba had said that Maldives is a challenge for India at present, since its government is more inclined towards China.
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