Ex-Maldivian minister apologises after post sparks outrage in India

A suspended Maldivian minister has offered “sincere apologies” after her social media post triggered outrage among Indians over her obvious disrespect to the Indian national flag.

Mariyam Shuina’s post on X, formerly Twitter, showed an Opposition party’s campaign poster ahead of parliamentary elections, with the party logo replaced by the Ashok Chakra on the Indian flag.

"The MDP is heading towards a big slip. The people of Maldives don't want to fall and slip with them," she wrote, referring to the Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party in the Indian Ocean atoll nation.

India's anger

This set off angry reactions from Indian social media users who asked President Mohamed Muizzu to take stern action against Shuina.

In no time, Shiuna deleted her own post and tendered an apology.

“I extend my sincerest apologies for any confusion or offence caused by the content of my recent post,” she wrote, in a fresh post.

The apology

“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. I want to make it clear that this was entirely unintentional, and I sincerely regret any misunderstanding it may have caused," she said.

“In future, I will be more vigilant in verifying the content I share, to prevent such oversights,” she added.

Shiuna added that the Maldives deeply values its relationship with India and respects New Delhi.

January row

The incident follows a similar row that broke out in January this year after a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lakshadweep led to offensive social media posts by three Maldivian ministers including Shiuna.

The January incident led the Maldivian president to suspend Shiuna and two colleagues, Abdulla Mahzoom Majid and Malsha Shareef, from the government.