Israel jumps into India-Maldives face off over Lakshadweep islands, shares pics, video of its 'pristine' beauty

Amid escalating diplomatic row between India and Maldives after insulting comments by Maldivian ministers against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the latter’s Lakshadweep visit, now Israel has come out singing paeans to the island group, lauding it for its “pristine and majestic underwater beauty”.   In fact, Israel said it was ready to commence the water desalination programme as early as “tomorrow”. Israel in India handle on X (previously Twitter) shared pictures and video of Lakshadweep islands. The Indian government last year had requested Israel to initiate desalination programme in Lakshadweep. “Israel is ready to commence working on this project tomorrow,” Israel embassy in India said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

We were in #Lakshadweep last year upon the federal government's request to initiate the desalination program.

Israel is ready to commence working on this project tomorrow.

For those who are yet to witness the pristine and majestic underwater beauty of #lakshadweepislands, here… pic.twitter.com/bmfDWdFMEq

— Israel in India (@IsraelinIndia) January 8, 2024

Desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from water. The announcement from Israel comes within days after PM Modi shared “stunning beauty" of islands in Lakshadweep including an ’exhilarating experience’ after he tried his hand at snorkeling there. Soon after PM Modi’s post, the global attention of Lakshadweep soared which did not sink well among many Maldives minister and people of the country. Maldivian politician Zahid Rameez, a council member of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), mocked the PM Modi’s visit and said India would never be able to compete with Maldives in regards to tourism. “The move [promoting Lakshadweep is great. However, the idea of competing with us is delusional. How can they provide the service we offer?,” Rameez said Rameez. Apart from Rameez, Maldivian minister Mariyam Shiuna also used derogatory language against the Indian Prime Minister. In a now-deleted posts on X, she referred PM Modi as a “clown” and a “puppet of Israel”. President Mohamed Muizzu-led government in Maldives rejected the derogatory remarks against PM Modi. It stating that they do not represent the views of the Maldivian government. Reacting to the criticism and outrage, the Maldives government also suspended three three deputy ministers including Shiuna and her colleagues Malsha Shareef and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid over the indecent remarks. #BoycottMaldives trending in India The “Boycott Maldives” is trending widely in India after the derogatory comments by Maldivian officials against PM Modi. Several Indian celebrities, including Bollywood actors, social media influencers, sports personalities called for a boycott of the Maldives and its tourist spots after the row. Maldives reliant on tourists from India Till December 2023, Indian tourists made up a large chunk of visitors to the Maldives. According to the Maldives tourism ministry, a total of 1,757,939 tourists visited the island nation till 13 December, 12.6 per cent more than the 1.5 million arrivals recorded in 2022. The largest number of tourists who visited the Maldives were from India (2,09,198), followed by Russia (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118).In the October-December quarter of 2021. With inputs from agencies