The leader of the main-ruling MDP's Parliamentary Group, Mohamed Aslam, has taken a tough stance against party members who have been openly challenging the government.
Last week, MPs from the main opposition PPM, along with MPs from MNP, JP, and some MDP MPs loyal to Parliament Speaker and MDP President Mohamed Nasheed moved a no-confidence motion against Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath. The development came while MDP is seeing a great divide among its ranks, with some supporting President Mohamed Solih and others, Nasheed.
Speaking to AVAS on Monday, Aslam emphasized that a party member signing a no-confidence motion against a minister in President Solih's government is a violation of all the rules and regulations of the party. He made it clear that such actions are no longer tolerable, and the parliamentary group will take action accordingly. He stated that the matter will be referred to the relevant party committee, which will decide what actions should be taken against the members who partake in these activities. He revealed that the party's action committee has already been asked to take action against four members of the MDP's parliamentary group and that he would also move against an MDP member who has signed the no-confidence motion against the AG.
"At this point, we can no longer tolerate such actions. The parliamentary group will decide what needs to be done. We will forward the matter to the relevant party committee to take action against the members [that partake in these activities]," Aslam said.
Aslam said it was a big concern that the party president was leading the anti-government movement within the party. He acknowledged that some members of the MDP's parliamentary group are now demanding the removal of President Nasheed from the post of Parliament Speaker.
Aslam also acknowledged the pressure he was under to take action against those who act against the rules. He stated that the document to be submitted to parliament to remove President Nasheed has been signed, but there is no official decision from the PG group yet. He said submitting the document would be the last resort, and that he hoped that dissident members would realign with the party's policies before that.
"In fact, I am also under a lot of pressure because of the delay in taking action [against such members]. However, when it comes to taking action, there are also senior party leaders involved in these matters. For example, the party president, vice president, former chairman, former deputy leaders of PG group. Therefore, we have to consider their services to the party before we take action against them," Aslam said
