New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) The Maldivian envoy to India was on Monday summoned to the external affairs ministry and conveyed its strong concerns over disparaging social media posts against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three now-suspended-ministers as the backlash over the remarks continued for the second day.
In Male, the Maldivian government conveyed to Indian High Commissioner Munu Muhawar that the remarks against Modi do not represent its views.
Deputy ministers in the youth ministry Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid were suspended on Sunday by the government of President Mohamed Muizzu over their posts.
The Maldivian President is in China on a week-long trip.
Though Maldivian media reported that Muhawar was summoned to the foreign ministry, the Indian high commission said he had a "pre-arranged" meeting with Ambassador at Large Dr Ali Naseer Mohamed.
"High Commissioner Munu Mahawar had a pre-arranged meeting with Dr Ali Naseer Mohamed, Ambassador at Large, at MoFA, Maldives, today to discuss bilateral issues," it said in a post on 'X'.
In New Delhi, sources said Maldivian envoy Ibrahim Shaheeb was summoned to the external affairs ministry and was conveyed its strong concerns over the social media posts against Modi.
As the row escalated, India's leading travel platform EaseMyTrip said it has suspended bookings to the Maldives.
The three deputy ministers used disparaging comments against Modi for his post on 'X' following his visit to Lakshadweep, inferring that it was an attempt to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives.
The remarks by the ministers have drawn flak in India, with many celebrities urging people on X to explore domestic tourist destinations instead of going to the Maldives.
Many prominent personalities including Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, appealed to people on Sunday to explore "Indian islands" and coastal destinations.
In a statement, the Maldivian foreign ministry on Sunday said the government is aware of "derogatory remarks" on social media platforms against foreign leaders and that the personal views do not represent its position.
"The government of Maldives is aware of derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals. These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the government of Maldives," the Maldivian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Former Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adeeb said President Muizzu should have reached out to Prime Minister Modi and sorted out the diplomatic crisis.
He described the derogatory comments against the Indian leader as "unacceptable." "I believe that this is something which should have never happened, which is not acceptable in any way. I believe that the Maldives government should have reacted more quickly with stern actions and reached out to India so that they should have never let this blow out for a big diplomatic crisis," he told PTI.
Leading Maldivian political leaders too slammed the Muizzu government over the controversy.
Former Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih condemned the use of "hateful language" against India by Maldivian government officials on social media.
"India has always been a good friend to Maldives and we must not allow such callous remarks to negatively impact the age-old friendship between our two countries," he said.