Maldives suspends three ministers after jibe against Indian PM Modi

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu suspended three deputy ministers on Sunday for making "derogatory remarks" against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government said.

Muizzu, who won September elections on promises that included removing a small contingent of Indian troops operating maritime aircraft from his archipelago, banned the ministers from work pending an investigation.

One deputy minister, Mariyam Shiuna, had called Modi a "clown" following the prime minister's visit to the Indian territory of Lakshadweep, a cluster of atolls just north of the Maldives.

The three suspended ministers — Malsha Shareef, Abdulla Mahzoon and Shiuna —are all from the youth ministry. They criticised Modi on social media, officials said.

"The government of Maldives is aware of derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high ranking individuals," the government said in a statement. "These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the government of Maldives."

A senior administrative official told AFP that Muizzu had suspended the trio and ordered an investigation.

He said Male was concerned about repercussions as Indians were the largest group of foreign visitors to the Maldives, where tourism accounts for almost one-third of the economy.

Modi on Jan.4 posted on social media praising the "pristine beaches" of India's Lakshadweep islands, which lie about 130 kilometres north of the Maldives at their closest point.

He posted photographs of himself snorkelling, and suggested the islands should be on the must-visit list of any adventure-seeking tourist.

Known as an expensive holiday destination with secluded resorts, the Maldives has also become a geopolitical hotspot.

Global east-west shipping lanes pass the nation's chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands, stretching around 800 kilometres across the equator.

One of India's largest travel platforms suspended flight bookings to the tourism-dependent Maldives on Monday after disparaging social media posts against Modi embittered relations between the South Asian neighbours.

India and Russia send the largest number of visitors to the Maldives, a chain of sun-kissed islands in the Indian Ocean that is home to many luxury resorts. Tourism accounts for almost one-third of its economy, according to the World Bank.

EaseMyTrip co-founder and Executive Director Prashant Pitti said bookings to the Maldives were suspended "indefinitely."

"We decided to take this step because any self-respecting nation should do this. The statements which we heard from the representatives of the Maldives government were extremely derogatory to the country," Pitti told Reuters.

Pitti said EaseMyTrip is the second largest online travel booking platform in India with a 22% market share.

The Maldives government suspended deputy ministers Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid for calling Modi a "clown", "terrorist" and "puppet of Israel" on social media platform X, in response to a video of him visiting the Indian islands of Lakshadweep, north of the Maldives, to promote local tourism.

Pitti said his company will promote Lakshadweep over any foreign location, even though EaseMyTrip might witness a "temporary dip in international tourism".

Many Indians, including some celebrities, shared social media posts promoting domestic destinations over the Maldives.

New Delhi has summoned Maldivian envoy Ibrahim Shaheeb, a day after India's mission in Male "strongly raised and expressed concerns" with the Maldivian foreign ministry on Sunday, a source aware of the matter said.

Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Munu Mahawar also held a "pre-arranged" meeting with the Maldivian foreign ministry on Monday, the Indian mission said on X.

Tourism is the largest foreign exchange earner for the Maldives, with India and Russia sending the most visitors, around 209,000 each last year.

Maldives is targeting 2 million arrivals for 2024.

Agencies