Former Maldives Minister's '911 Call' Remark For India Amid Lakshadweep Row

Another former Maldives minister has come out in support of Narendra Modi amid disrespectful remarks against Lakshadweep and PM Modi by a few members of the government of President Mohamed Muizzu.

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'India has been our 911 call'

Ex-defence minister of the archipelago, Mariya Ahmed Didi, said that the derogatory comments against PM Modi demonstrate the "short-sightedness" of the Maldives government.

Mariya Ahmed Didi said, "... India has been our 911 call; whenever we need it, we give a call, and you all come to our rescue. That kind of a friend. When you see such disparaging remarks about friends like this, it is sad for everyone concerned."

"I would think as close friends, as neighbours, as part of the global community, and we would keep our international commitments and Maldives government, would keep our traditional foreign policy of being friends with everyone," she said.

"We've always had an India first policy, and I hope they continue it, that they recognize that you're the closest neighbour, that you will be the people who have always come and will come in the future also when the need arises and to have the sentiments of the Maldivian people because we have always gone to India for medical treatment as well," she added.

"When we do not have the facility to attend to certain illnesses in Maldives. Even otherwise, when we had the Covid, we got the vaccines also under Indian aid. We've had so much cooperation between the two countries. We have cooperated with each other from time immemorial, and it is not feasible for us to even think that we can replace our closest neighbour...," the minister said.

Massive uproar after disparaging comments

A massive uproar erupted after a Maldivian deputy minister, along with other cabinet members and government officials, made disparaging and unsavoury references to PM Modi's recent visit to Lakshadweep.

In a post that has now been deleted, the Maldivian Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Shiuna, made a mocking and disrespectful reference to PM Modi over his visit to the Indian island cluster. Her post even featured images of PM Modi from his visit to Lakshadweep.