Maldives suspends ministers for calling India PM Narendra Modi 'terrorist', 'clown'

The Maldives has suspended three deputy ministers who made derogatory comments about India and its PM Narendra Modi.

The officials had responded to a social media post from Mr Modi, calling him a "clown", "terrorist" and a "puppet of Israel".

A foreign ministry spokesperson said the comments were personal and did not represent the views of the government.

Male's response came after the remarks set off an uproar on Indian social media.

"All government officials responsible for the comments have been suspended from their posts effective immediately", a spokesperson for President Mohamed Muizzu's office told the BBC.

There is already tension between India and the island nation after Mr Muizzu asked a contingent of about 75 Indian troops to leave the country after he came to power last year.

The three suspended ministers are Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid.

Despite strong calls for their sacking, Maldivian media noted the three officials have been only suspended.

The trio made the controversial comments in response to Mr Modi's post on X (formerly Twitter) which included photos promoting tourism to the Indian island chain of Lakshadweep.

Ms Shiuna also compared India with cow dung.

This sparked outrage on Indian social media and got hashtags such as #BoycottMaldives and #ExploreIndianIslands trending.

Some said they would cancel their holidays to the Maldives - Indians were among the largest group of tourists who visited the Maldives last year. The CEO of Indian ticket-booking site EaseMyTrip said his company had suspended all flight bookings to the Maldives.

The archipelago is famous for its silver sand beaches, resorts and coral islands.

Prominent Indians, including Bollywood star Akshay Kumar as well