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A massive row erupted between India and Maldives after a minister of the island country made some derogatory remarks against PM Narendra Modi over his recent visit to the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
Maldives Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment Mariyam Shiuna used words like ‘clown’ and ‘puppet’ for the Prime Minister of India. The remarks sparked huge outrage in India with people calling for boycotting traveling to Maldives for its anti-India stand.
India raised concerns over the remarks against the Indian Prime Minister and diplomatic channels are communicating India’s position with the officials of Maldives.
‘Hateful language used against India’
The remarks by Mariyam Shiuna were not taken well by the domestic political circles of Maldives with former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih condemning the “hateful” language used against India.
“I condemn the use of hateful language against India by Maldivian government officials on social media. India has always been a good friend to Maldives and we must not allow such callous remarks to negatively impact the age-old friendship between our two countries…” Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said.
Former foreign minister of Maldives Abdullah Shahid called the derogatory remarks “reprehensible and odious” in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“I call on the Government to reprimand these officials. Public figures must maintain decorum. They must accept that they are no longer social media activists and that they are now entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the interests of the people and the country,” Shahid wrote on the microblogging site.
He said, “India is a time tested friend and an unwavering ally. They have historically been the first to respond in our time of need. Our close relationship has been bound by mutual respect, history, culture and strong people-to-people relations.
Ahmed Mahloof, former Maldivian minister also expressed concern over the Indian Prime Minister, saying “I’m deeply worried about the escalating situation regarding the sensitive comments about our closest neighbor.”
“Indians boycotting the Maldives would have a huge impact on our economy. It would be hard for us to recover from such a campaign. I call on the government to swiftly take serious action to solve the issue ASAP,” Mehloof said.
He said, “We love India and Indians, and India will always remain our closest neighbor”.
“As an ordinary citizen of the Maldives, I apologize for the racist comments by a few Maldivians towards Indians and Prime Minister @narendramodi,” the minister added.
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