Will probe false allegations against Pres, govt warns The Democrats

The government on Thursday issued an indirect warning to members of The Democrats, a new political party being formed by former MDP members loyal to speaker Mohamed Nasheed, saying that if they make false allegations related to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, they will take up the matter with the relevant authorities.

MDP has lost its super majority in parliament and the rifts between existing MDP members and former party members has intensified. The members have been levelling serious allegations against the government in support of Nasheed, who lost the MDP presidential primaries against President Solih.

During Wednesday’s parliament session, some of them said:

At a press conference held at the President's Office on Thursday, presidential spokesperson Miuvan Mohamed said the allegations levelled by the members against the president were baseless and false. Such statements are being made on the parliament floor by misusing the privileges enjoyed by MPs, he said.

According to the law, MPs cannot be held liable for making statements in parliament as long as they do not violate the tenets of Islam.

Miuvan said opponents were making such statements to gain the political support they had in the past.

"That's a definite lie. We see these statements as those made by some people who believe that they can actually gain support by taking away the seriousness of the May 6 attack and regain the political support that people have lost in the wake of it," he said.

He said that if an MP makes such a statement outside parliament, the government will take up the matter with the concerned authorities and look into it.