New Delhi: Former Maldives minister Mariyam Shiuna, who was suspended in January for mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has apologised profusely after another ill-fated potshot at India over the weekend backfired on social media.
This time, the Maldivian politician posted an image intended to ridicule the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) weeks before the country heads to parliamentary elections on 21 April.
In the image, she replaced the opposition party’s circular emblem with a symbol resembling the Indian flag’s Ashoka Chakra, as if to insinuate the party’s “loyalty” to India. “The MDP is heading towards a big slip. The people of Maldives do not want to fall and slip with them,” Shiuna wrote in the post Sunday.
Shiuna belongs to India-wary Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) party.
On Monday, she took to X to apologise for her post. “I extend my sincerest apologies for any confusion or offence caused by the content of my recent post. It was brought to my attention that the image used in my response to the Maldivian opposition party MDP bore a resemblance to the Indian flag,” she wrote.
“I want to make it clear that this was entirely unintentional, and I sincerely regret any misunderstanding it may have caused… In future I will be more vigilant in verifying the content I share to prevent such oversights,” she added.
I would like to address a recent social media post of mine that has garnered attention and criticism .I extend my sincerest apologies for any confusion or offense caused by the content of my recent post.
It was brought to my attention that the image used in my response to the…
— Mariyam Shiuna (@shiuna_m) April 8, 2024
Speaking to ThePrint, Hisaan Hussain, an MP from MDP, asserted: “This (statement) comes at a surprising time, especially when India has approved an increase in the staple food quota. It’s concerning that no proper action has been taken against such behaviour. President Muizzu’s tolerance of these kinds of actions towards close allies is worrying.”
Days ago, the Maldivian government had thanked India for lifting export restrictions on essential commodities like rice, eggs, potato and wheat.
Shiuna, the former deputy minister at the Maldives Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Art, was one of three ministers suspended for social media posts that made disparaging remarks against Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep.
They had derided Modi’s post on social media where he promoted Lakshadweep’s beauty, sharing photos from his visit in January – in a bid to establish Maldives’ supremacy over the Indian island as a tourist destination.
The MDP, however, currently holds a majority of seats in the Maldivian Parliament (People’s Majlis) while Muizzu’s party – seen as anti-India – does not.
If the opposition party retains majority in the upcoming polls, the Muizzu government will continue facing challenges in passing legislation in Parliament. Recently, the election dates were postponed due to a law passed by Parliament, despite Muizzu’s intention to have the polls on 17 March, during Ramzan.
Muizzu won the Maldivian presidency last year after espousing an “India out” campaign. His government asked India to remove military personnel in one of the three aviation platforms by 10 March and the remaining staff on the other two by 10 May. These military personnel will be replaced by Indian technical personnel.
In January, Muizzu inked 20 key agreements with China, during an official state visit to the country — when he broke protocol to visit China before India.
That same month, the Opposition dealt a major blow to Muizzu’s party after securing a landslide victory in capital Male’s mayoral election.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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