'We are Atmanirbhar': Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar react to India-Maldives row

Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar have batted for tourism in India

Amid escalating tensions between India and the Maldives following derisive comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lakshadweep by some Maldivian political leaders, several Bollywood stars have encouraged people to explore the beauty of Indian islands. The Maldives row has prompted reactions from Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar who have urged fans to explore Indian islands instead.

'We are Atmanirbhar'

Big B reacted to a post shared by former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag on X and said, "Hum Bharat hai, Hum Aatmanirbhar hai and do not harm our self-reliance."

"Viru paji .. this is so relevant and in the right spirit of our land .. our own is the very best. I have been to Lakshadweep and Andamans and they are such astonishingly beautiful locations .. stunning waters beaches and the underwater experience is simply unbelievable. We are India, we are Atmanirbhar, don't let anything blemish our Atma Nirbharta. Jai Hind," Big B posted on X.

Earlier on Sunday, Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag shared several pictures and wrote, "Whether it be the beautiful beaches of Udupi, Paradise Beach in Pondi, Neil and Havelock in Andaman, and many other beautiful beaches throughout our country, there are so many unexplored places in Bharat which have so much potential with some infrastructure support. Bharat is known for converting all Aapda into Avsar, and this dig at our country and our Prime Minister by Maldives ministers is a great Avsar for Bharat to create just the necessary infrastructure to make them attractive to tourists and boost our economy. Please do name your favourite unexplored beautiful places."

'Why should we tolerate such unprovoked hate?'

Meanwhile, other Bollywood celebrities like 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.

Actor Akshay Kumar also posted on X, condemning the comments from Maldives' ministers. "Came across comments from prominent public figures from Maldives passing hateful and racist comments on Indians. Surprised that they are doing this to a country that sends them the maximum number of tourists. We are good to our neighbors but why should we tolerate such unprovoked hate? I've visited the Maldives many times and always praised it, but dignity first. Let us decide to #ExploreIndianIslands and support our own tourism.

Maldives Envoy to India, Ibrahim Shaheeb was on Monday morning seen leaving the Ministry of External Affairs in the national capital's South Block. This comes amid a row over derogatory social media remarks by some ministers in the Maldives on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Lakshadweep.

A massive row was triggered last week after Maldives deputy minister, along with other cabinet members and government officials, made disparaging and unsavoury references to PM Modi's Lakshadweep visit.

On January 2, PM Modi visited the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and shared several pictures, including an 'exhilarating experience' of him trying his hand at snorkelling.

In a series of posts on X, PM Modi shared pictures of the white beaches, the pristine blue skies and the ocean and tagged them with a message that read, "For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list."

In a post that has now been deleted, the Maldivian Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Shiuna, made a mocking and disrespectful reference to PM Modi.

The Maldives government has distanced itself from the remarks made by its ministers. Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs Moosa Zameer said that these remarks against foreign leaders are "unacceptable" and do not reflect the official position of the Maldives government. He stated that the Maldives remains committed to fostering a "positive and constructive dialogue" with all its partners, particularly its neighbours.

(With inputs from ANI)