Ahmed Thariq, Member of Parliament for the Mahibadhoo constituency has stated that he would leave the upcoming People’s Majilis session before the scheduled Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s speech.
Clarifying the reason for his would-be early exit, Thariq stated in a Facebook post that he wanted to make a statement and express his objection about the Indian government’s inaction towards abuse and mistreat against Muslims in India.
He further stated that holding sessions or meetings between Maghrib and Ishaa prayers goes against the norms of the Maldivian tradition and culture. He also said that it might burden those who fast during 6 days of Shawwal and it is worrying that the session is scheduled within that time period.
Further, regarding the concern, he stated that the gesture of scheduling the session in between Maghrib and Ishaa prayers would form a conjecture that the Maldives is inclining towards a secular philosophy where politics and religion are treated as separate entities.
“Are we to wait and see the ideologies of Maldives being changed similar to how it changed in Turkey under Atatürk’s presidency?” said Thariq.
Thariq did not participate in the voting session held to invite Modi. In addition to Thariq, some other members also expressed their concern regarding the scheduling of the session.
The special People’s Majilis session is to be held on Saturday at 6:45 PM.
