Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed says the hard copy of the Uthuru Thilafalhu (UTF) agreement had been shared with parliamentarians because it would be detrimental to the relationship between India and the Maldives if part of the text is leaked online.
Speaking at the beginning of the parliament's session today, Nasheed said that former President Abdullah Yameen had put the relationship between the two countries at risk by talking about the agreement struck between India and the Maldives.
This comes after Yameen had said that the UTF Agreement grants all powers to the Indian military and allows them to import as many as weapons they want without having to seek approval from the Maldives.
In response, Nasheed said today members of the armed forces were summoned to the parliament's security services committee and that MNDF had given presentations on the components of the agreement separately.
Nasheed further said that the original text was also shared with the committee members and that the committee's chair had assured that it was the original agreement.
However, he said that the hard copy of the agreement has not been shared because it might be shared on social media and that it would damage the relationship between India and the Maldives.
Nasheed added that Yameen had been spreading lies about the UTF agreement.
The defense Ministry had also denounced the comments by the former President Yameen and had said that it was untrue that Uthuru Thila Falhu has been described as a foreign military base.
