A day after Maldives suspended three of its ministers for their disparaging remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India summoned the Maldives envoy to New Delhi and expressed strong concern over the comments.
In a related development, Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Sameer criticised the derogatory remarks, labeling them as “unacceptable.” He emphasised that these remarks do not reflect the official position of the Maldives Government.
Sameer stated that Maldives remains committed to fostering a “positive and constructive dialogue” with all its partners, particularly its neighbours.
In a post shared on X, Moosa Sameer said, “The recent remarks against foreign leaders and our close neighbors are unacceptable and do not reflect the official position of the Government of #Maldives. We remain committed to fostering a positive and constructive dialogue with all our partners, especially our neighbours, based on mutual respect and understanding.”
A massive uproar erupted after a Maldivian deputy minister, along with other cabinet members and government officials, made disparaging and unsavory references to Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep.
On January 2, he visited the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and shared several pictures, including an “exhilarating experience” of him trying his hand at snorkeling.
In a series of posts on X, Prime Minister Modi shared pictures of the white beaches, the pristine blue skies, and the ocean and tagged them with a message that read, “For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list”.
In a post that has now been deleted, the Maldivian Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Mariyam Shiuna, made a mocking and disrespectful reference to the Modi over his visit to the Indian island cluster.
On Sunday, former Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih condemned the use of “hateful language” against India by Government officials on social media, saying New Delhi has always been a good friend to the island nation. Taking to his official handle on social media platform X, Solih posted, “I condemn the use of hateful language against India by Maldivian government officials on social media.”
He stressed that “India has always been a good friend to the Maldives and we must not allow such callous remarks to negatively impact the age-old friendship between our two countries.”
Meanwhile, former Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid said the objectionable remarks against the former and fellow Indian natives on social media are ‘reprehensible’ and ‘odious’.
Calling on the Maldivian government to identify the officials responsible and reprimand them, the former Foreign minister on his official X handle posted, “Derogatory remarks made by two Deputy Ministers of the current Maldives Government, and a member of a political party in the ruling coalition, towards Prime Minister @narendramodi and the people of India in social media is reprehensible and odious.”
