President Mohamed Nasheed has stated that India has always respected democracy in Maldives and would not attempt to overthrow an elected government.
Following the Washington Post article on the attempted overthrowing by India's RAW of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's administration, former President Mohamed Nasheed has stated that India has always respected democracy in Maldives and would not attempt to overthrow an elected government.
In a post on social media platform X, Nasheed said that he was not aware of any plans to overthrow President Muizzu's administration, and accused some of always engaging in conspiracy theories.
"India will not support such an action. They have always respected democracy in Maldives. India has never dictated ways on us," Nasheed wrote.
Following their investigation, the Washington Post said that that the plan, in a paper called the “Democratic Renewal Initiative”, was to bribe 40 members of parliament, including PNC members, to pass a no-confidence motion against President Muizzu.
They claimed that they had in possession a copy of this paper.
In addition to MPs, the paper also includes plans to pay ten senior officers of the Maldives Police Service and MNDF as well as three powerful gangs operating in Maldives to help overthrow President Muizzu's government.
USD six million (about MVR 92.5 million) was allocated for the plan, the newspaper claimed, adding that those behind it were planning to get the funds from India.
However, the plans, which lasted for months in secret, did not materialize because there were not enough members to remove President Muizzu from office.
Savio Rodrigues, a former spokesman for India's ruling BJP, Shirish Thorat, a former Indian police officer who has worked as a private military contractor, were the two main Indian intermediaries in the plans, says Washington Post. They also claim that Thorat was a former advisor against religious extremism during President Mohamed Nasheed's administration.
According to the Washington Post, a close associate of President Muizzu has shared some of the exchanges between Thorat and Indian RAW agents with the newspaper. However, the associate did not disclose how they obtained this information, the newspaper said.
Both Thorat and Rodrigues confirmed to the Washington Post that they planned to overthrow President Muizzu, but did not say whether they worked officially on behalf of the Indian government.
According to the Washington Post, it is unclear how serious the Indian government was about the plot.
However, the RAW agent based in Maldives refused to overthrow the government so early in President Muizzu's rule, the Post quoted a Maldivian politician who regularly frequents the Indian High Commission in Maldives as saying.
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