Three Maldivian ministers have been suspended for making ‘sarcastic’ and ‘insulting’ comments about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep.
Livemint reported the news, citing local media, on Sunday (January 7) amid strong criticism from Indian citizens.
All the three sacked were reportedly serving as deputy ministers. Those three ministers are Maryam Sheuna, Malsha and Hasan Jihan.
Relations between India and the Maldives have been strained in recent months over various issues. This time Maldivian Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment Miriam Sheuna further provoked it.
Recently Deputy Minister for Youth Empowerment Sheuna made a post on Social Media X (formerly Twitter) mocking the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Lakshadweep Island. His post created further tension between the two countries.
After this tweet, there was a storm of condemnation on social media. Due to this, many Indian tourists, who had planned to visit Maldives, also canceled their trip at the last moment. Not only this, they started a ‘Maldives Boycott’ campaign by sharing screenshots of their flight tickets and hotel bookings on Facebook. Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed strongly condemned Sheuna’s comments. He urged Muijju to inform the world that Sheona’s comments did not reflect the Maldivian government’s policy.
Local media Atoll Times reported that all government officials responsible for the derogatory comments had been suspended and the directive was effective immediately. However, one of the sacked deputy ministers, Hasan Jihan, termed the news as ‘fake’. Incidentally, India-Maldives diplomatic relations have deteriorated since Mohammad Muijju assumed power as the President of Maldives last November. After becoming president, Muiz has brought changes in foreign policy. Instead of the ‘India First’ policy, he has now announced the development of relations with China.
