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Indian tourists vow to #BoycottMaldives after ministers call Modi a ‘clown’, ‘puppet of Israel’
- Three Maldivian officials criticised India’s PM Modi on social media, provoking fury among Indians, who form the bulk of visitors to the archipelago nation
- The boycott comes as the neighbours’ ties have become strained since the new Maldivian government came into power on an anti-India platform
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Indian tourists have started cancelling visits to the sun-kissed beaches of the Maldives as a social media call to boycott the island has gone viral in the world’s most populous country following disparaging remarks made about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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The controversy erupted after three Maldivian ministers – Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid – called Modi a “clown”, “terrorist” and “puppet of Israel” in reference to India’s support of Israel in the Gaza war.
The comments of the officials, who have since been suspended over the matter, came in response to a video on the X platform of Modi visiting the Indian islands of Lakshadweep, north of the Maldives, to promote local tourism.
Modi also shared pictures of the pristine white beaches, tagging one with a message that read: “For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list.”
But the Maldivian ministers’ angry reaction to Modi’s post has in turn provoked fury among Indians, who, along with Russians, account for the largest number of visitors to the archipelago nation.
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