Maldivian Ministers Who Disparaged PM Modi, Resign Ahead Of President Muizzu’s Delhi Trip

New Delhi: Two junior ministers in the Maldivian government, who were suspended for disparaging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year, have resigned ahead of a proposed visit by President Mohamed Muizzu to New Delhi, an official said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Malsha Shareef and Mariyam Shiuna in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts were disciplined along with fellow minister Abdulla Mahzoom Majid in January for comments they made on social media platform X. They labelled Modi a “clown”, “terrorist” and “puppet of Israel” in response to his promotion of tourism in the Indian islands of Lakshadweep, viewed as a signal to pro-China Muizzu who had pledged to end Maldives’ “India first” policy. The comments had angered New Delhi and sparked a campaign by some Indian celebrities on social media to promote local tourism, which dented Indian arrivals in globally popular Maldives, whose 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean are dotted with luxury resorts.