Maldives minister suspended after printing Indian flag sparks outrage

Suspended Maldivian minister Mariyam Shiuna has apologized after sparking outrage after posting a picture on social media that allegedly disrespected the Indian flag.

The post, which has since been deleted, showed a campaign poster by the opposition party, whose logo has been replaced by the Ashok Chakra on the tricolor flag ahead of the island nation’s parliamentary elections.

Mariyam Shiuna, who belongs to Maldives President Mohamed Muizou’s ruling party, used her now-deleted social media posts to call for votes for her party. “The People’s Democratic Party of Maldives is heading for a serious slide. The people of Maldives do not want to slide with them,” the post read.

The Maldivian minister’s post triggered a backlash from Indian social media users, who strongly called on President Muizou to take stern action against Shiuna. After causing an uproar, Nori deleted the post before apologizing.

“I offer my sincerest apologies for any confusion or offense caused by the content of my recent posts. It has come to my attention that the image I used in my response to the Maldivian opposition party MDP is similar to the Indian flag. I want to make it clear that this was completely unintentional, I sincerely regret any misunderstanding that may have been caused,” she posted on X.

Shiuna added that the Maldives attaches great importance to its relations with India and respects the country.

The incident comes amid a diplomatic spat between India and the Maldives that began when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lakshadweep in January 2024.During the visit, Prime Minister Modi promoted the beauty of Lakshadweep on social media, leading to Disparaging remarks by Maldivian officials, including Shiunafor India and the Prime Minister.

Despite the tensions, India remains an important economic partner to the Maldives, serving as the island nation’s main source of imports and a major supplier of basic commodities such as rice and medicines. New Delhi recently updated its quota for importing essential commodities to Male for the coming year.

However, recent events point to growing anti-India sentiment in the Maldives, especially in the Maldives Those campaigning on the ‘India Out’ platform out of concerns about India’s military presence and influence. At the same time, China continues to increase its investment and influence in the Maldives, further complicating the situation in India.

The Maldives recently asked India to withdraw its military personnel stationed there, triggering discussions between the two countries to seek “mutually feasible solutions”. last month, First batch of Indian personnel leaves Maldivesthe deadline for complete divestment is set at May.