Mariyam Shiuna and Malsha Shareef, who were suspended under accusations of slandering Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have resigned.

Shiuna, Malsha and Abdul Mahzoom Majidh were suspended for criticizing the Prime Minister of neighboring India. They were deputy ministers at the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Art.

Among the three, Malsha and Shiuna have resigned.

RaajjeMV’s attempts to contact Mahzoom to clarify whether he has resigned as well or not, were to no avail as he failed to answer the station’s calls.

The deputy ministers were suspended on January 7 this year, in connection with derogatory comments directed at India’s PM, on social media.

Their slander churned a major campaign to boycott the Maldives, resulting in mounting public concern and significant pressure on the government.

The situation unfolded after India’s PM Modi’s visit to and promotion of Lakshadweep, after which Indian social media activists began a campaign titled “Boycott Maldives”, labeling Maldives as a “pro-China” country and flooded social media with appeals not to visit the island nation, which relies heavily on the tourism industry as a major source of revenue.