Former President and opposition leader Abdullah Yameen has defended his stance on the 'Indiaout' campaign that has gained momentum following his release from prison after his 5-year jail term conviction was overturned.
In an interview with 'Dhiyares' news, Yameen said that while he has been promoting the 'Indiaout' campaign, the campaign is actually targeted at the Indian Military stationed in the Maldives.
Yameen said that he had no hate against India or its people but just because he preferred Indian movies and Indian songs does not mean that the country can deploy its soldiers here in the Maldives.
In the interview, the former President touched on what the Speaker of the Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed had said during the Caucas of Male' city citizens held this weekend.
The speaker had said that there was no way anyone in the Maldives can shout 'Indiaout' and Yameen pointed out that Nasheed had also meant that while the country cannot call for 'Indiaout' but it can demand 'India Military Out'.
Referring to why he and his supporters were using the 'Indiaout' logo for their anti-India Military campaign, Yameen said that too many words cannot be used as a logo and that the true motive behind the current logo is to call for the withdrawal of Indian Military stationed here in the Maldives.
Yameen aimed heavy criticism to key political figures in the country including JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim and Home Minister and Adaalath Party leader Imran Abdullah.
Yameen went on to say that he was the only political leader to 'brave' enough to talk about the Indian troops stationed in the Maldives and that during his tenure the situation has not been as serious as now for him to resort to calling for the withdrawal of India troops in the Maldives.
The call for the withdrawal of Indian troops stationed in the Maldives has grown leader after Yameen was released from prison earlier and he had since begun making trips to the islands to promote the Anti-India military campaign.
This in fact has led to major online clashes between his supporters and those supporters of the coalition and these include members of the parliament as well as social media activists.
