India has summoned the Maldives envoy after three ministers of the island nation made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A Maldivian lawmaker criticised PM Modi following his Lakshadweep trip inferring that New Delhi is attempting to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives. Two other Maldivian ministers also shared derogatory remarks along with PM Modi’s photos from Lakshadweep.

The statements followed massive outrage within the Maldives with several prominent leaders criticising the remarks against the nation’s “closest neighbour”. Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed described the remarks as “appalling” and asked President Mohamed Muizzu’s government to distance itself from these comments.

The Maldivian government has suspended three ministers after several Indians on social media claimed to have cancelled their scheduled vacation to the nation made up of more than a hundred islands dotted with luxury resorts.

Ministers Maryam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef and Mahzoom Majid have been suspended.

The Supreme Court today overturned the Gujarat government’s decision to release the 11 convicts who raped Bilkis Bano and killed her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Here are the top observations from the Supreme Court verdict in Bilkis Bano case:

Holding Bilkis Bano’s request challenging the remission as maintainable, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said the Gujarat government was not the appropriate government to pass the remission order.

Gujarat government should have filed a plea seeking review of the 2022 order stating they aren’t the competent government.

The court said that the victim’s rights are important and that women deserve respect.

Supreme Court order dated May 2022 was obtained through fraudulent means and suspension of facts.