Khurshid speaks to Maldives counterpart

Even as ousted Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed remained holed up at the Indian High Commission in Male for the second day on Thursday, the Centre tried to extricate itself from the island nation’s political slugfest, with Union External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid talking to his Maldivian counterpart Abdul Samad Abdulla over the phone.

Nasheed had entered the High Commission premises on Wednesday night under the pretext of meeting the High Commissioner, who was not present there. Later, he sought refuge claiming imminent arrest in a court case filed against him for the detention of the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court during his presidential tenure.

But on Wednesday night, his party - the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) - came up with a series of demands, which went far beyond the original condition of being allowed to run for September’s presidential election.

The MDP asked for the resignation of President Mohamed Waheed, who had succeeded Nasheed in February 2012 and the formation of a transitional government to ensure free and fair election. The MDP’s posturing did raise a few  eyebrows in the Indian establishment, since it seemed to escalate the situation, just as New Delhi was trying to find a solution by talking to Male.

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