Mariyam Shiuna, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts, recently made insulting remarks against PM Modi, referring to him as a ‘clown’ and a ‘puppet of Israel’ after he posted pictures from his visit to Lakshadweep Islands.
“What a clown. The puppet of Israel Mr Narendra diver with a life jacket #VisitMaldives,” Shiuna tweeted.
The post was deleted after backlash on X, formerly known as Twitter, where Indian social media users slammed the Maldives government officials, including Shiuna, for their crass remarks against the Indian Prime Minister for sharing pictures of his visit from the Lakshadweep Island. It is worth noting that PM Modi did not mention the Maldives anywhere in his tweets.
In yet another post, Shiuna tweeted that the Maldives does not need the Indian Military’s presence in the region.
Similarly, other officials and prominent personalities too have taken to social media, making obnoxious remarks against India and Indians. On Friday, January 5, Zahid Rameez, a Council member of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) took to the microblogging site X to mock Indians. The PPM member’s highly racist remark against Indians came in response to a post by popular X user Mr Sinha, where he shared pictures of PM Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep and hailed the islands as a viable option to Maldives.
Responding to a tweet posted by a user @MrSinha_, Zahid Rameez tweeted, “The move is great. However, the idea of competing with us is delusional. How can they provide the service we offer? How can they be so clean? The permanent smell in the rooms will be the biggest downfall.”
On January 4, PM Narendra Modi shared some pictures of his recent visit to Lakshadweep as he exhorted people to explore the scenic island in what could be seen as a push to his ‘vocal for local’ slogan, and an effort to give a boost to tourism in the island.
Following PM Modi’s tweet posting stunning vistas from the Lakshadweep Islands, several social media users in India called for Indians to visit the place over foreign destinations, including the Maldives, which shares similar geographical characteristics as the Lakshadweep Islands. That touched off bitter reactions from Maldivian counterparts, including governmental functionaries and prominent citizens, many of whom resorted to making churlish remarks against India, Indians, and the Indian PM.
The discourteous outburst by Maldives ministers may likely have a bearing on the diplomatic relations between India and the Maldives, with the archipelago dependent heavily on India for tourism and the Indian military for its security requirements.