The recent tensions that emerged between the Maldives and India have become intense. It is worth noting that the three ministers of the Maldives government had made an offensive comment to the Prime Minister of India who was on the visit to Lakshadweep. After this tweet, a word of war started on X (Formerly known as Twitter) and many Indian tourists cancelled their trip to Maldives which directly and indirectly affected their tourism. Considering the seriousness of the occasion, the Maldives government has immediately suspended those three ministers whose derogatory remarks have brought tension between the two countries.
Maldives Government Suspends 3 Ministers over Derogatory Remarks on PM Modi
These suspended ministers are identified as Hassan Zihan, Mariyam Shiuna, and Malsha who are responsible for making offensive comments about PM Modi. The suspension news has been officially shared by the local media. As per local media, the spokesperson of the Maldives government, Ibrahim Khaeel states that All those government officials who were responsible for making derogatory comments have been deferred from their positions immediately. However, Hassan Zihan, one of the deferred deputy ministers of the Maldives government body had told the local media that this news is “Fake”.
What Is The Entire Matter?
These suspensions are the immediate action taken by the existing government of Maldives on the ministers who made derogatory comments about PM Modi through X. This incident occurred last week when PM Modi posted a video on his social media account in which he can be seen on a beach in Lakshadweep. Many people have made several comments on it but the post of Mariyam Shiuna was quite disrespectful. The Deputy Minister Of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts called PM Modi a “puppet of Israel”, and “clown”. After watching the huge backlashes on this post, he instantly removed his post and apologized.
But the matter had already gotten intense and the Maldives government was forced to take serious action against these Ministers. A statement was released on Sunday, 7th Jan 2024, the Foreign Minister of the Maldives stated that they already knew the matter related to the “derogatory remarks on social media against a high-ranking personality and foreign leaders. The Maldivian Foreign Ministry further added that “these opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the Government of Maldives.”
The Maldives Government is facing backlash from all corners. Due to the offensive comments of suspended ministers, the tourism of Maldives has been badly affected. The famous Indian online travel company, EaseMyTrip has suspended flight bookings to the Maldives. In the official statement shared by Nishant Pitti, the CEO of EaseMyTrip on his social media account, he states that “@EaseMyTrip has suspended all flight bookings of the Maldives. Not only this, but the online travel company has also become the part of “Visit Lakshadweep” campaign. This campaign aims to promote tourism in India and to draw the attention of foreign travellers towards the domestic destination.
The CEO of EaseMyTrip emphasized the scenic beauty of the water and beaches of Lakshadweep and compared this domestic destination to Seychelles and Maldives. To draw the attention of tourism, the e-travel company is also giving several offers to promote the campaign. Not only the flights but around 8,000 hotel bookings have also been cancelled. According to the media reports, more than 2,500 flight tickets have been cancelled by the tourists of India after watching the matter. It is worth noting that the largest number of travellers in Maldives is from India after Russia and China. According to the media on an average of 2,09,198 people used to visit Maldives after Russia (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118).