Serious consequences if legal course not followed: India to Maldives
Male in November last year, met two opposition leaders but this subject was never raised even though some "fringe parties" had been creating controversy over the issue, the sources said.
The controversy, which came to the fore during the tenure of former President Mohamed Nasheed, remained "dormant" ever since his ouster in February, they noted.
But the cancellation of the contract in the last week of November came as a surprise to India which sees the decision linked to President Mohd Waheed's growing ambitions to contest next year's Presidential polls after legitimacy was bestowed on his regime by a Commission of Inquiry. His predecessor Nasheed had been claiming that he was ousted in a coup by Waheed.
India feels Waheed decided to "ride a tiger and now he does not know how to disembark".
Waheed apparently took the hard position of cancelling the contract deliberately because of competitive politics.
India is disappointment that the Maldivian government did not challenge the order of a local court which had termed the proposal to levy Airport Development Charge as "tax", which is prerogative of the government only. This was the root cause of the controversy that led to cancellation of the contract.
Not sure whether ADC amounted to taxation, India feels a way out on this could have been exempting Maldivian nationals from the charge of USD 25 per internationally departing passenger.
This offer was, in fact, made by GMR before the contract was cancelled but it was not considered by the Maldivian government.
