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NEW DELHI: The Maldives “suspended” 3 deputy ministers Sunday for ridiculing the Indian PM, Narendra Modi, on social media for his recent visit to Lakshadweep, after the Indian high commission in Male registered a strong protest over the issue. Without naming the ministers, the Maldivian foreign ministry said in a statement the remarks “against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals”didn’t represent the views of the Maldivian government.
The local media identified the suspended deputy ministers as Malsha Shareef, Abdulla Mahzoom Majid and also Mariyam Shiuna, who had described Modi as a clown and a puppet of Israel.All 3 were ministers in the youth ministry.
The controversy comes at a time ties between the 2 countries have become strained because of apparent efforts by the new president, Mohamed Muizzu, to limit defence ties with India and in the middle of Male’s China outreach that will see him travelling, as first reported by ToI on January 1, to Beijing for a 6-day visit. Muizzu is not just the first Maldivian president to not visit India first after assuming office but also the first to travel to China before flying to Delhi.
In an exclusive interview to ToI last week, Muizzu had said he was following a pro-Maldives policy and that he wanted India to remove its forces from the Indian Ocean archipelago because not doing so would disregard the will of the Maldivian people and imperil democracy in his country.
A public backlash on social media saw Indian celebrities calling for boycotting the Maldives. Interestingly, Muizzu highlighted in his interview to TOI that India sent the maximum number of tourists to the country in 2023.
“Our high commission in Maldives had strongly raised and expressed concerns about the comments made in regard to the PM by certain ministers in the Maldives government with the foreign office today,” said an Indian government source.
A statement by the Maldives government on the issue didn’t name Modi or the suspended ministers, who mocked Modi’s photographs from nearby Lakshadweep and his efforts to promote tourism, but said Maldives believes freedom of expression should be exercised in a democratic and responsible manner, and in ways that do not spread hatred, negativity, and hinder close relationships between the Maldives and its international partners. It also warned of action against those who make such derogatory remarks.
Significantly, former president Mohamed Nasheed, who remains on good terms with India even after having walked out of the pro-India Maldivian Democratic Party, slammed Shiuna for her appalling language against the leader of a “key ally, that’s instrumental for Maldives’ security and prosperity” and urged the local government to distance itself from the remarks. Shiuna, who once had her Twitter account suspended for instigating violence against former president Ibrahim Solih, deleted her post on X later.
The local media identified the suspended deputy ministers as Malsha Shareef, Abdulla Mahzoom Majid and also Mariyam Shiuna, who had described Modi as a clown and a puppet of Israel.All 3 were ministers in the youth ministry.
The controversy comes at a time ties between the 2 countries have become strained because of apparent efforts by the new president, Mohamed Muizzu, to limit defence ties with India and in the middle of Male’s China outreach that will see him travelling, as first reported by ToI on January 1, to Beijing for a 6-day visit. Muizzu is not just the first Maldivian president to not visit India first after assuming office but also the first to travel to China before flying to Delhi.
In an exclusive interview to ToI last week, Muizzu had said he was following a pro-Maldives policy and that he wanted India to remove its forces from the Indian Ocean archipelago because not doing so would disregard the will of the Maldivian people and imperil democracy in his country.
A public backlash on social media saw Indian celebrities calling for boycotting the Maldives. Interestingly, Muizzu highlighted in his interview to TOI that India sent the maximum number of tourists to the country in 2023.
“Our high commission in Maldives had strongly raised and expressed concerns about the comments made in regard to the PM by certain ministers in the Maldives government with the foreign office today,” said an Indian government source.
A statement by the Maldives government on the issue didn’t name Modi or the suspended ministers, who mocked Modi’s photographs from nearby Lakshadweep and his efforts to promote tourism, but said Maldives believes freedom of expression should be exercised in a democratic and responsible manner, and in ways that do not spread hatred, negativity, and hinder close relationships between the Maldives and its international partners. It also warned of action against those who make such derogatory remarks.
Significantly, former president Mohamed Nasheed, who remains on good terms with India even after having walked out of the pro-India Maldivian Democratic Party, slammed Shiuna for her appalling language against the leader of a “key ally, that’s instrumental for Maldives’ security and prosperity” and urged the local government to distance itself from the remarks. Shiuna, who once had her Twitter account suspended for instigating violence against former president Ibrahim Solih, deleted her post on X later.
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