Maldives ambassador to India has been asked to appear before the Indian External Affairs Ministry after three Maldivian deputy ministers made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

A Maldives government official confirmed to Adhadhu that the ambassador in New Delhi, Ibrahim Shaheeb, will appear before the External Affairs Ministry at 9:00 am today.

Ambassadors are summoned in connection with major issues between countries. The biggest issue between Maldives and India at the moment is the derogatory remarks aimed at Modi by the deputy ministers.

The ambassador is expected to maintain the position revealed in the Foreign Ministry's statement yesterday.

"These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the Government of Maldives," reads the statement released in English.

Freedom of expression should be exercised in a democratic and responsible manner, "and in ways that do not spread hatred, negativity, and hinder close relationships between the Maldives and its international partners," it added.

Following the statement, the government suspended deputy youth ministers Mariyam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef and Mahzoom Majid. However, their has been growing calls for their termination.

Heated exchanges have been taking place on X between some top officials of the Maldivian government and Indian citizens and troll accounts. The spat was kicked off by a video posted by Modi to promote tourism in Lakshadweep.

Indian political commenters on X characterized Modi's video as a threat to Maldives tourism. An account named "Mister Sinha" called the current Maldives government "a Chinese puppet" and suggested that the video would boost tourist arrivals to Lakshadweep.

The tweet prompted responses from senior officials in defense of the government. Some individuals mocked Modi and used obscene language from verified accounts of top government officials.

In a tweet that she has since deleted, Shiuna called Modi a "joker" and "puppet of Israel." Such tweets on official accounts of government officials completely disregard bilateral ties between the countries, Indian accounts noted.

This caused as a social media campaign, joined by Bollywood stars, against Maldives tourism.

The largest source market for Maldives tourism in the past three years was India. From 2021 to 2023, over 200,000 Indians visited the Maldives annually.

Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, John Abraham and Tiger Shroff posted on X calling on supporters to choose Lakshadweep over the Maldives. Star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has made a similar post.

Maldives tourism industry stakeholders have expressed concern over the pressure they are facing due to the social media posts.

Meanwhile, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, accompanied by several government officials, began a historic state visit to China last night.