Male, Apr 9: A Maldives minister, who was suspended in January for her derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has now mocked the Indian flag after including parts of the flag in an altered campaign poster of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), according to Maldivian local media on Monday. New Delhi has not officially reacted to the incident.In a post on X, former deputy youth minister Mariyam Shiuna has apologised for the content of her post.
“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 offence caused by the content of my recent post,” she wrote on X.
“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 wrote“Maldives deeply values its relationship and the mutual respect we share with India. In future, I will be more vigilant in verifying the content I share to prevent such oversights,” the suspended junior minister posted.
She denied any intention to mock India and claimed to have used the design of the Indian flag “by mistake”.
Her post came ahead of the parliamentary elections in the Maldives on April 21. There was no response on the issue from the Indian government.
Shiuna, who was suspended from the government earlier this year for “derogatory remarks” against Prime Minister Modi, shared the post with the mockery of the Indian flag on Saturday night.