Maldives to make anti-India protests a crime

Male: The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is coming up with a bill that will make sloganeering and demonstrations against India a crime. Recently many videos have surfaced on social media, in which people of Maldives are seen protesting against the Indian government wearing T-shirts of 'India Out'. The MDP believes that bilateral relations are affected by such demonstrations. Therefore they should be banned.
According to the report, 'India Out' campaign is being run by former President Abdulla Yameen the country. The government is considering bringing a new bill to declare such campaigns illegal. Its objective is to adopt a balanced foreign policy, which will prove effective in strengthening its relations with other countries. Under the new bill, a fine of 20,000 Maldivian rufiyaa will be charged from those raising anti-India slogans. Along with this, there is also a provision of imprisonment for 6 months or detention for 1 year. An MDP leader said, 'We have a clear majority in the 87-member Parliament. So it does not matter who is opposing the bill. We feel that there is a need to enact such a strict law, because our and India's security is intertwined. However, voices are also being raised against this bill. Opponents say that this is a violation of democratic rights to protest. Yameen has accused India of interfering in the country's internal politics and the current government of Maldives in collusion with India. By the way, this is not the first time that there have been protests against the Indian Army and the Government of India in Maldives. A similar protest took place in the year 2012, after which Indian airport operator GMR had to leave Maldives that year and return to India.