Male: The two junior ministers-- Malsha Shareef and Mariyam Shiuna, who were suspended in January for derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi - resigned from the government.
The resignation from the ministers came more than nine months after their suspension from the posts of Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Youth. Both the ministers have opted to keep their reason for resignation private, edition.mv reported on Monday.
Surprisingly, the resignations were announced on the same day the government announced that Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu would travel to India on an official visit "very soon". The announcement was made by Heena Waleed, the chief spokesperson at the President's Office.
She said that while the exact date for the trip is yet to be finalised, the two sides are discussing a date, which is of convenience to the leaders of both countries, the Sun Online news portal reported. "The President is scheduled to visit India very soon. As you are aware, such trips are scheduled for a time of maximum convenience to leaders of the two countries. Discussions regarding this are in progress,” she said during a press conference.
What happened?
At least three Maldivian deputy ministers made controversial remarks regarding India and Prime Minister Modi on social media. The trio mocked India's decision to expand tourism in Lakshadweep. This triggered huge outrage in India, where thousands of tourists cancelled their planned trips, resulting in massive losses to Maldives- a country heavily dependent on its tourism industry.
Later, the Maldives Foreign Ministry distanced itself from their remarks, saying they did not represent the views of the Male government.
Notably, The Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and the overall bilateral ties, including in the areas of defence and security, witnessed an upward trajectory under the previous government led by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
(With inputs from agency)
