New Delhi:India and Maldives are in a full blown diplomatic standoff after controversial comments against India by a politician and ministers of the island nation triggered a massive row with #BoycottMaldives trending on social media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to ‘Land of Corals’ Lakshadweep, shot India’s beach heaven to limelight. Modi shared a post in which he could be seen snorkeling, walking on white sand, and resting on a pristine beach. Soon after the post went viral, Lakshadweep became the 10th most searched word on Google in India.
Netizens were quick to compare Lakshadweep with Maldives, and they claimed the former could be a better beach vacation spot. However, the surging popularity of the Indian island has not taken in good taste by an MP from Maldives.
Reacting to a post featuring PM Modi's visit, Maldives MP Zahid Rameez said that the idea of competing with them is "delusional". Taking to X, PPM's Zahid Rameez made controversial remark saying that, "The permanent smell in the rooms will be the biggest downfall" for India.
Apart from him, a Maldivian minister reportedly accused India of targeting the Maldives and said India faces significant challenges in competing with the Maldives in beach tourism.
“While I wish success for India's tourism, targeting the Maldives so explicitly isn't diplomatic. India faces significant challenges competing in beach tourism, considering our resort infrastructure exceeds their total islands. Plus this is your culture @narendramodi”, Abdullah Mahzoom Majid wrote in a post on X, which he deleted eventually.
Abdullah Mahzoom Majid's post that triggered row. Following the backlash, the minister first deleted the post and then his X account.
Twitter users from India were aghast and lambasted the Maldives politicians for their 'distasteful' remarks.
Several noted personalities including Bollywood star Akshay Kumar and former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad reacted to the remarks.
"Came across comments from prominent public figures from 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. We are good to our neighbors but why should we tolerate such unprovoked hate? I've visited the Maldives many times and always praised it, but dignity first. Let us decide to #ExploreIndianIslands and support our own tourism," Akshay tweeted.
"A deputy minister using such language for our country. Maldives is a largely poor country largely dependent on upmarket tourism with over 15% tourists from India. India has very many unexplored beautiful coastal towns, and this is a great opportunity to develop many of them into tourist destinations," Prasad said in his post on X.
Currently, the ties between India and Maldives are at the lowest after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu came to power and because of his strong call for India out campaign.
Maldivian President Muizzu took over as President in November 2023. In his election campaign, he said he would remove a small contingent of some 75 Indian military personnel in his island nation and change Maldives's "India first" policy.
Muizzu is now scheduled to visit China on Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. Chinese President Xi Jinping invited him, and both sides are expected to reach a series of cooperative agreements in the fields of politics, economy, culture, and green development, as well as to promote the bilateral relationship to a new level.
It is important to note here that Muizzu's predecessors in the recent past visited India first, considering the wide-ranging bilateral ties and the Maldives' closeness to India, followed by China which has expanded its influence in the island nation by investing in major infrastructure projects there.
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