Fayyaz says challenging to penalise Nasheed
"There is no more harm that anyone can do to this party anymore, from neither Nasheed nor anyone else. All possible damage has been done".
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By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
MDP chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has said on Thursday that it is very difficult to take action against party president Mohamed Nasheed, who has created a separate faction within the party, and the best thing for the party at the moment is not to take such a step.
A dozen lawmakers belonging to Nasheed's faction quit the party on Wednesday after the expulsion of Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim from MDP on Tuesday. With this, they started the process of forming a new political party called Fikuregge Dhirun.
Asked at a press conference held at the MDP office if MDP plans on taking any action against Nasheed as his closest aides were planning to form a separate party, Fayyaz said there was a difficulty in taking action as Nasheed was a very senior member of the party.
"Nasheed is loved by many people and many members of the party. So it is very difficult for us to take action against Nasheed. I have no hesitation in saying this. It's very difficult to do," he said.
Fayyaz, who is also the economic minister, said he would consider the interests of the party and the benefits available at that time while taking action against Nasheed. He said the party will weigh if there is more to gain for the party by not taking action over the damage it can cause to the party by taking action against Nasheed.
Fayyaz said:
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The tussle is between senior leaders of the party
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In taking action, the party must look at common interest rather than what is in the charter
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Action will only be taken when rebellions are called upon or when efforts are initiated to topple the government
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Once we reach that point, if there is no alternative, the party will take action against Nasheed as per the party's rules
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Action will be taken in the best interest of the party
On Nasheed's removal as speaker, Fayyaz said his appeal in that case was to "still abide by".
"We will also ask the lawmakers on behalf of this party to continue to bear the torture they have been subjected to for so long and still keep taking it," Fayyaz said, adding that the best thing for the party right now is not to take action against Nasheed.
"There is no more harm that anyone can do to this party anymore, from neither Nasheed nor anyone else. All possible damage has been done. We’re just taking it all quietly."
Fayyaz said they were being handled as a mark of respect to Nasheed as he had rendered valuable service to the party and the country. He said MDP would still try to ensure that it could move forward with Nasheed.
