Nishant Pitti, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip, defended the company's choice to halt flight bookings to the Maldives, saying that certain individuals perceived the action as political.
Nishant said that some users accused his company of fueling the India-Maldives dispute. The CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip said that the company would have taken the same decision regardless of the ruling government in India.
'When we took this decision, it was risky to let go of sizeable revenue and alienating a chunk of userbase. But we are thankful to 95 per cent people of India, who are supporting us, our app download increased by 280 per cent last week. Remaining 5 per cent folks seem aggravated, as they are seeing it politically, and probably it's not matching with their political ideology. Perhaps, we would have done the same, no matter which government was ruling in India, as it just made sense to uphold the dignity of our country," he said.
A row erupted between India and the Maldives after three deputy ministers of the Maldives posted derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Lakshadweep.
Following the social media postings that raised concerns in India, where Indian tourists constitute the largest group, President Muizzu suspended the three ministers. Indian tourists were reported to be considering a boycott in response to the derogatory comments, with Russia following India in terms of tourist numbers.
In addition to this, President Muizzu has requested the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the Maldives by March 15. According to the latest government figures, there are currently 88 Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives, assisting in the operation of a Dornier aircraft and two helicopters provided by India.
Speaking to the press on Saturday after returning from China, President Muizzu did not explicitly mention any country but said, "We may be small, but that doesn't give you the licence to bully us."
READ MORE: 'Nation First, Business Later': EaseMyTrip reiterates its stand to halt travel bookings to Maldives amid row
READ MORE: India-Maldives row: EaseMyTrip suspends all flight bookings to island nation over anti-PM Modi remarks
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