Male: The two junior ministers, Malsha Shareef and Mariyam Shiuna, who were suspended in January for derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have resigned from the government.
The ministers’ resignations came more than nine months after their suspension from their posts as deputy ministers at the Youth Ministry. Both ministers have chosen to keep the reason for their resignation private, edition.mv reported on Monday.
Surprisingly, the resignations were announced on the same day that the government announced that Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu would be travelling to India on an official visit “very soon”. The announcement was made by Heena Waleed, chief spokesperson for the Office of the President.
According to the Sun Online news portal, although the exact date of the trip has not yet been finalised, the two sides are negotiating a date that is convenient for the leaders of both countries. “The President is planning to visit India very soon. As you know, these trips are scheduled for a time of maximum convenience for the leaders of the two countries. Discussions on this are underway,” he said during a press conference.
What happened?
At least three deputy ministers of the Maldives made controversial comments about India and Prime Minister Modi on social media. All three mocked India’s decision to expand tourism in Lakshadweep. This triggered a huge outrage in India, where thousands of tourists cancelled their planned trips, resulting in huge losses for the Maldives, a country that relies heavily on its tourism industry.
The Maldivian Foreign Ministry later distanced itself from his comments, saying they did not represent the views of the Male government.
It is noteworthy that Maldives is one of India’s major maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and overall bilateral ties, including in the areas of defence and security, saw an upward trajectory under the previous government led by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
(With contributions from the agency)
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