MDP halted Parliament to obstruct dialogue: Abbas Adil Riza

Government Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza has said that Maldivian Democratic Party (MPD) halted the Parliament in order to obstruct the planned discussions at the Parliament, as well as dialogue between leaders of political parties.

“The plan was to work on ‘two tracks’ - to hold discussions between leaders of political parties, and to make the necessary changes to the law at the Parliament at the same time. This is what the government agreed to. If any of these things are halted, the government would not want to participate in talks,” Abbas said.

He said that following Nasheed’s initiative, it had even been proposed to hold discussions between leaders of political parties at the Parliament.

He condemned MDP’s efforts to halt the Parliament.

MDP has declared that they will protest at the Parliament chamber, for as long as the government attempts to impose a charge on patients for services at private clinics and hospitals under Aasandha.

Abbas said that MDP’s concern is not about a charge being imposed under Aasandha; rather, their purpose is to obstruct political dialogue.