Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking everything personally after a row erupted over three Maldivian ministers making remarks about his visit to Lakshadweep that many Indians deemed derogatory, reported ANI.

The comments pertained to Modi’s post showing him snorkelling during his recent visit to Lakshadweep. Maldivian minister Maryam Shiuna had reacted to the picture, calling Modi a “clown”. “The puppet of Israel Mr Narendra diver with life jacket,” she had said in her now-deleted post on X.

Following the uproar, Shiuna and two other ministers – Malsha Shareef and Mahzoom Majid – were suspended on Sunday. A day later, India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned Maldivian High Commissioner to India Ibrahim Shaheeb to discuss the matter.

On Tuesday, Kharge said that India should maintain good relations with its neighbours.

“After Narendra Modi came to power he is taking everything personally,” the Rajya Sabha MP told reporters in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi. “At the international level, we should keep a good relationship with our neighbours. We should act according to time. We can not change our neighbours.”

Meanwhile, Congress’ ally in the INDIA bloc, the Nationalist Congress Party, held a different view as Sharad Pawar said that any comments against the prime minister of the country are unacceptable, reported ANI.

“He is the prime minister of our country and if anyone from any other country holding any position makes such comments on our PM, we will not accept it,” Pawar said. “We must respect the prime minister’s post. We will not accept anything against the prime minister from outside the country.”

Notably, the comments about Modi came amid the strained relationship between India and the Maldives since Mohamed Muizzu was sworn into power as president of the island nation in November.

Muizzu is seen as being pro-China, which is crucial as Maldives holds strategic importance in the Indian Ocean. On Monday, Muizzu also kicked off his five-day visit to China during which he will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and sign several agreements.

Also read: Why a social media row over Modi’s tweets led to the suspension of three Maldives ministers