Maldives Envoy to India, Ibrahim Shaheeb was summoned on Monday by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) amid the row over derogatory remarks made by some Maldivian ministers on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

In a video shared by news agency ANI, the Maldivian envoy was seen arriving at the MEA office in Delhi in the morning and then leaving a short while later.

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Earlier on Sunday, the Indian High Commission in Male had raised with the Maldivian government the issue of derogatory comments made against Prime Minister Modi by certain leaders of the archipelagic state.

This followed the massive row that erupted after Maldives deputy minister, along with other cabinet members and government officials, made derogatory and appalling references to Modi’s recent Lakshadweep visit.

The Prime Minister had visited the Union Territory of Lakshadweep on January 2 for the inauguration and foundation laying ceremony of several development projects.

He had shared some pictures of his visit, including an ‘exhilarating experience’ of him trying his hand at snorkelling and sitting on a chair near a beach under pristine blue skies and ocean.

“For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list,” he wrote along with pictures in a message to promote local tourism.

Reacting to his Lakshadweep images, Mariyam Shiuna has made disparaging remarks in a tweet which was deleted later. Other Maldivian lawmakers – Malsha Shareef and Mahzoom Majid – also made similar remarks against PM Modi, with one of them accusing India of targeting Maldives’ tourism.

After the outage and condemnation from within and outside the country, the Maldivian government suspended two ministers and a ruling coalition leader for making derogatory remarks against Modi and distanced itself from the controversy.

Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs Moosa Zameer said that these remarks against foreign leaders are “unacceptable” and do not reflect the official position of the Maldives government.

He stated that the Maldives remains committed to fostering a “positive and constructive dialogue” with all its partners, particularly its neighbours.