Veteran actor-turned-politician Paresh Rawal slammed a journalist and called her a 'termite' after she said that Indian tourism needs a 'reality check' amid the 'Boycott Maldives' trend. This comes after Zahid Rameez, a council member of the Progressive Party of Maldives, mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lakshadweep, and said India would never be able to compete with Maldives in regards to tourism.
Soon after the tweet went viral, several Bollywood celebrities urged their fans and followers to choose Indian islands as a vacation destination. In fact, #BoycottMaldives has also been trending on X.
On January 8, journalist, columnist and author Sagarika Ghose took to her official X account and said that successful tourism requires top-notch infrastructure and an open, inclusive cultural atmosphere.
Demanding a thorough assessment of the state of tourism in India, the journalist wrote, "Reality check: Maldives has around 170 top class resorts, & 900 guest houses, each resort on an island. Lakshadweep has a handful, none remotely close to Five Star category. The last time Lakshadweep made headlines was when the LG there recommended a beef ban. Tourism demands quality infra & open and inclusive culture. Instead of boycotting Maldives let’s do a reality check of Indian tourism. #Lakshadweep #Maldives."
Reacting to her post, Paresh Rawal wrote, "She is pathetically so predictable! As expected the Termites are crawling out of the woodwork."
Meanwhile, other Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Ranveer Singh, Shraddha Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Kangana Ranaut, John Abraham, and others have joined the 'visit Lakshadweep campaign' under the hashtag ExploreIndianIslands. With this, they have urged their fans and social media followers to explore Indian islands.
Reacting to PM Modi's recent visit to Lakshadweep, Maldivian leader Zahid Rameez had shared on X, "The move is great. However, the idea of competing with us is delusional. How can they provide the service we offer? How can they be so clean? The permanent smell in the rooms will be the biggest downfall."
His post did not go down well with netizens as well as Bollywood celebrities, who joined the call to boycott Maldives.
