Two Maldivian ministers who disparaged India's Modi resign ahead of Muizzu's Delhi trip

By Uditha Jayasinghe

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Two junior ministers in the Maldivian government, who were suspended for disparaging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year, have resigned ahead of a proposed visit by President Mohamed Muizzu to New Delhi, an official said on Wednesday.

Malsha Shareef and Mariyam Shiuna in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts were disciplined along with fellow minister Abdulla Mahzoom Majid in January for comments they made on social media platform X.

They labelled Modi a "clown", "terrorist" and "puppet of Israel" in response to his promotion of tourism in the Indian islands of Lakshadweep, viewed as a signal to pro-China Muizzu who had pledged to end Maldives' "India first" policy.

The comments had angered New Delhi and sparked a campaign by some Indian celebrities on social media to promote local tourism, which dented Indian arrivals in globally popular Maldives, whose 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean are dotted with luxury resorts.

Muizzu's office did not respond to calls seeking comment. A government official confirmed the resignations of Shareef and Shiuna but declined to give further details and did not wish to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The president's spokesperson was cited by local media as saying on Tuesday that Muizzu would make an official visit to India "very soon".

It would be the Maldivian president's first visit to New Delhi since he won election last year in a region where India and China compete for influence.

Muizzu made a state visit to Beijing soon after winning the vote and in June he attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi after India's general election.

Maldives-India relations were hurt after Muizzu won power in April and demanded New Delhi replace 80 defence personnel it had stationed on the Maldives with civilians as part of his "India out" campaign.

India agreed and completed the replacements in May while the relationship has been on the mend following diplomatic talks and meetings since. (This story has been corrected to fix Muizzu's designation in the headline)

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe in Colombo; Writing by Shivam Patel; Editing by Kim Coghill)