Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Sunday backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's posts to promote Lakshadweep tourism after three now-suspended Maldivian ministers made derogatory comments against PM Modi following his posts. Shifting the focus back to the Modi's visit, Union Minister Lekhi said that the Prime Minister had "introduced the world to the beautiful places in India". "We have to take pride in our history and also take steps to make India 'atmanirbhar'," Lekhi said, adding that Indians should travel to tourist destinations in the country. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy too encouraged Indians to visit Lakshadweep while highlighting the Union Territory's tourism potential. "There is no need to visit New Zealand or Switzerland. Everything is in Lakshadweep," the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development for the North Eastern region said. Meanwhile, Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that everything could be resolved through dialogue, refusing to discuss the matter further. "We do not take forward the comments of people from foreign countries because it is a question of our national interest," he said. Following the row over the social posts by Maldives' politicians, the government of the island nation distanced itself from the remarks and suspended the three ministers - Mariyam Shiuna, Malsha Sharif and Mahzoom Maajid. The remarks also led to Indian social media users using the hashtag “Boycott Maldives” and vowing to refrain from travelling to Maldives for their vacations.
