Ousted Maldivian President banking on India to restore democracy

NEW DELHI: Ousted Maldivian president Mohammed Nasheed is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to brief him about the situation in his country and seek India’s support for his ''pro-democracy movement'' and early polls. Nasheed, who arrived here on Tuesday, expressed hope before reporters that India will be able to ''bring Maldives back on track''.
While Nasheed is scheduled to meet foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai, government sources said he may also meet Singh during his visit.
''There is a change of government in Maldives and we want to explain the situation to the Indian government,'' said Nasheed.
''I will be meeting the Indian leadership on 23rd of this month. We want more Indian assistance in bringing democracy back,'' he added. While stating that India has its difficulties in dealing with its neighbours, he added that its influence is paramount in the region.
Before leaving for India, he told a news portal that he expected elections to be held as early as August. ''I think August is reasonable. The more time you give the present dictatorship, the more entrenched they will get; and hence early elections are very important. The dictatorial and military regime, backed by Gayoom, should end at the earliest and should be replaced by a government elected by the people,'' he said.