On Sunday, January 7, former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has condemned the derogatory language used by some of the country’s officials against PM Narendra Modi. President Nasheed issued his condemnation after Mariyam Shiuna, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts, recently made insulting remarks against PM Modi.

Nasheed said that the language used by the minister Mariyam Shiuna was “appalling” and said India is a “key ally” for the security and prosperity of Maldives.

Nasheed posted, “What appalling language by Maldives Government official @Shiuna_M towards the leader of a key ally, that is instrumental for Maldives’ security and prosperity.”

What appalling language by Maldives Government official @shiuna_m towards the leader of a key ally, that is instrumental for Maldives’ security and prosperity. @MMuizzu gov must distance itself from these comments and give clear assurance to India they do not reflect gov policy.

— Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) January 7, 2024

The former President further asked the current President Mohamed Muizzu and his government to distance itself from these comments and give clear assurance to India they do not reflect govt policy.

Notably, minister Shiuna earlier posted, “What a clown. The puppet of Israel Mr Narendra diver with a life jacket #VisitMaldives,” while trying to insult the Indian PM.

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.

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.

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.