The Maldives government suspended Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna, and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid, the three deputy ministers who insulted India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media on Sunday.
A senior government official noted that the three officials worked for the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts.
Maldives Suspended Three Officials
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 01: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during day one of the high-level segment of the UNFCCC COP28 Climate Conference at Expo City Dubai on December 01, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The COP28, which is running from November 30 through December 12, brings together stakeholders, including international heads of state and other leaders, scientists, environmentalists, indigenous peoples representatives, activists and others to discuss and agree on the implementation of global measures towards mitigating the effects of climate change.
Shareef, Shiuna, and Majid were disciplined after describing Modi as a "clown," "terrorist," and "puppet of Israel" on X, formerly Twitter. The post was published in response to a video promoting tourism in Lakshadweep, an Indian Union territory in the Arabian Sea.
Majid tagged Modi in a post regarding India in competition with Maldives in beach tourism and also discussed open defecation in India.
According to Al Jazeera, some viewed Modi's visit as an attempt to draw tourists away from the well-known destination Maldives, whose 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean are dotted with luxury resorts. The Indian media said that the Indian High Commission in the Maldives raised the issue with the Maldives' government.
On Sunday, the Maldives' Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitted they were aware of the derogatory comments about foreign leaders and prominent figures on social media platforms.
The statement said that the opinions were personal and did not represent the views of the Maldives government. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the former president of the Maldives, condemned the use of hateful language against India.
Solih posted on X, formerly Twitter, that India has always been a good friend to Maldives. He said they would not allow such callous remarks to negatively impact their age-old friendship with India.
A senior administrative official reported that Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu ordered an investigation. The official claimed that Muizzu was concerned about repercussions since Indians are the largest group of foreign visitors to the Maldives, where tourism accounts for almost one-third of the economy.
Indian Celebrities Speak Out
Bollywood actors and sports stars expressed their discontent over the remarks made by the Maldives' officials.
"Came across comments from prominent public figures from the Maldives passing hateful and racist comments on Indians. Surprised that they are doing this to a country that sends them the maximum number of tourists," Akshay Kumar, a famous Indian actor, posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Kumar shared that he had already visited Maldives many times but decided to explore the Indian Islands and support their own tourism. Salman Khan, John Abraham, Shradha Kapoor also posted photos from their time in Lakshadweep or other Indian beach destinations.
Salman Khan said it was cool to see their PM Modi at the stunning beaches of Lakshadweep. Tendulkar posted photographs from his recent trip to Sindhudurg, saying India was blessed with beautiful coastlines and pristine islands.
'Boycott Maldives' also trended on social media, with many users talking about canceling their hotel bookings and flight tickets to Maldives over the insult to PM Modi.
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