Maldives Minority Leader Calls For Removal Of President Muizzu Amid Maldives Row

Maldives Parliamentary Minority Leader, Ali Azim called for removal of President Muizzu and demanded a vote of no confidence, following disparaging remarks made on Prime Minister Modi.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in UAE.

Source : PTI

Ali Azim, the Parliamentary Minority Leader in the Maldives, took to his X account on Monday to demand the removal of President Mohamed Muizzu amid the ongoing row over comments against PM Modi by now-suspended Maldives ministers. He also called for a vote of no confidence following the demeaning remarks made on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"We, d Demovrats, r dedicated to upholding d stability of the nation's foreign policyn preventing d isolation of any neighboring country. R u willing to take all necessary steps to remove prez@MMuizzu from power? Is @MDPSecretariat prepared to initiate a vote of no confidence?" (sic), the leader wrote on X. 

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a video from his latest visit to a beach in Lakshadweep, India, several politicians of Maldives posted derogatory remarks on social media, which escalated into a row.

The controversy began online when three Deputy Ministers of the Maldives in the youth ministry, named Malsha Shareef, Abdulla Mahzoom Majid, and Mariyam Shiuna, condemned PM Modi on social media over his visit to Lakshadweep. 

The Maldivian government suspended them and clarified that their comments were "personal and do not represent the views of the government." 

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) also issued a statement on its X account and strongly condemned the derogatory remarks of the suspended Maldivian officials.

"India has always been a first responder to various cries throughout our history, and we are immensely grateful for the close relationship that the Government as well as the people of India have maintained with us," the group said in a statement. 

Amid the India-Maldives row, several Indian celebrities, including Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, John Abraham, and Sachin Tendulkar, took to X to urge people to explore tourist destinations in India instead of flying to the Maldives under the hashtag #exploreindanislands.