President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has opted to remain silent on the question of revoking the Order of the Distinguished Rule of Izzuddin given to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Government of Maldives.

The subject was broached by a reporter from Dhiyares in Wednesday’s press conference. The reporter asked why the government had not revoked the honor given to Prime Minister Modi, given his stance on Muslims and the spike in Islamophobia in India, under his administration.

In answering the question, President Solih said any and all forms of Islamophobia and defamation of the Prophet would not be tolerated. He added that this was not linked to any party and that all such defamation would be condemned.

The issue arose following the defamatory comments made by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

Following the vague, non-answer, Dhiyares reporter once again questioned on when the Government would revoke the honor.

In response, the President said that he was aware that the incident ‘involved a certain individual at a certain party’.

Once again, the reporter questioned, asking why the Maldives continued to honor someone who regularly perpetrated and encouraged crimes against Muslims.

In a bid to refrain from answering the question, the President asked why this question was never asked before. He asked why this instance was in question at this time and place.

The Solih administration had awarded the Order of the Distinguished Rule of Izzuddin to Modi in 2019. The decision to grant Modi that honor was an unpopular one.

The Solih administration said the honor was bestowed on Modi in recognition of the many services he has performed to cement the longstanding, amicable ties between our two countries, and for the assistance Indian government continues to provide to the Maldives under Modi’s stewardship.