New minister says he doesn't believe Modi is ‘monster’
Posts previously made by Ali Shareef on X resurfaced after his appointment. The posts included comments directed at Maldivian and foreign political figures.
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Environment Minister Ali Shareef on Tuesday said he does not believe Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a “monster”, after facing repeated questions over past social media posts.
The remarks came during the Minister’s first press conference since taking office.
Posts previously made by Ali Shareef on X, formerly Twitter, resurfaced after his appointment. The posts included comments directed at Maldivian and foreign political figures.
Among those referenced were members of the current cabinet, Prime Minister Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. In one post from 2020, Modi was described as a terrorist.
When asked why the posts were made and whether he still held those views, the Minister initially declined to answer, saying the matter did not fall within the subject of the press conference.
He noted that President Mohamed Muizzu had previously addressed questions about appointments, stating that merit and experience are considered in selecting ministers.
Journalists continued to ask whether he wished to apologise for the language used in the earlier posts.
Responding later, Ali Shareef said: “No, I don’t believe Modi is a monster, okay? I will leave the answer at that.”
Following public circulation of the earlier posts, a number of them were deleted from his social media account.
