Maldives politician Zahid Rameez, who faced criticism and backlash over his derogatory comments against India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep, Tuesday wished India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Rameez is a member of Progressive Party of Maldives that is part of the government led by President Mohamed Muizzu.
“Happy Birthday to the esteemed Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishanker! Wishing you a year filled with success and positive diplomatic endeavors,” said Rameez in a post on X.
He was responding to a post where EAM Jaishankar thanked PM Modi for his birthday wishes.
Late last week, Rameez reacted to pictures and video shared by PM Modi from his recent visit to Lakshadweep, claiming it to be an idea of competing with Maldives’ tourism.
The pictures of PM Modi’s visit and snorkelling in Lakshadweep gained wide attention, people on social media have been comparing it with the Maldives, which is a popular tourist destination known for its beautiful beaches.
Rameez took a jibe at PM Modi’s attempt to promote Lakshadweep and spoke big about the great services for tourists in Maldives.
In a racist rant, Rameez went on to question the cleanliness in Lakshadweep and ridiculed the standard of hotel rooms.
“The move is great. However, the idea of competing with us is delusional. How can they provide the service we offer? How can they be so clean? The permanent smell in the rooms will be the biggest downfall,” he said in a post on X late last week.
In another post, Rameez accused India of “copying a small economy like Sri Lanka” to make money.
“It is very sad that a big country like India is trying to make money by copying a small economy like Sri Lanka,” he wrote on X.
The derogatory comments made by Rameez and another deputy minister Mariyam Shiuna led to diplomatic row between India and Maldives.
Shiuna called the Indian Prime Minister a “clown” and “puppet” in now-deleted posts on X.
The post on X were taken down by the ministers after backlash on the micro-blogging site.
On Sunday, the Maldives government suspended at least three ministers who made derogatory comments on social media against India. The leadership even distanced itself from the remarks made by the ministers and urged officials not to do anything that affects ties with international partners.
With inputs from agencies
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Amid diplomatic row, Maldives politician, who mocked PM Modi, wishes EAM Jaishankar on birthday
