Nasheed under pressure, denies TMJ expose

Parliament Speaker former President Mohamed Nasheed has denied TMJ’s alarming expose on his activities to seek out safe passage for Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.

The Parliamentarian tweeted Tuesday afternoon that it was ‘a complete fabrication’.

Nasheed also called TMJ a mere ‘blog in the Maldives’, adding that ‘the people behind it to a grave disservice to the profession of journalism’.

This is the first time Nasheed had openly criticized a media for their expose.

The Parliament Secretariat had also denied these claims, stating that Nasheed’s role was ‘limited to seeking assistance – nothing more’.

Namal Rajapaksa, the son of Mahinda, had denied the claims that any assistance was sought.

Nasheed is presently in Sri Lanka, having volunteered to coordinate international relief for the beleaguered country. The expose, citing credible sources, revealed that Nasheed’s benevolence was a mere cover. The source revealed that Nasheed was actively lobbying for safe passage for the Rajapaksa family to the Maldives. In turn, Mahinda had pledged to support and fund Nasheed’s political activities in the Maldives.

Another interesting revelation was purchase of a six-room villa in Soneva Fushi, a high-end resort in the Maldives. The property is owned by British-Indian developer Sonu Shivdasani. Shivdasani also was quick to deny the report.

Several social media posts have argued that Nasheed was capable of this. One user referred to Nasheed’s calls to India to invade the Maldives when former President Abdullah Yameen was in power.

Several high-profile Sri Lankan journalists have also criticized Nasheed’s role in the fiasco.

Most of the Sri Lankans commenting on the issue have condemned Nasheed’s actions, citing that it was irresponsible and undemocratic.