Actor Ranveer Singh.
Credit: X/@RanveerOfficial
Several celebrities have taken to social media to promote Lakshadweep as a tourist destination at a time India is hot and bothered over comments made by some ministers from the Maldives government, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the union territory off the coast of Kerala.
Ranveer Singh is just one of the celebrities who made a gaffe.
The Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani actor posted a series of images promoting Lakshadweep, but they turned out to be pictures of the Maldives. Though the actor has now deleted the posts, others on social media were quick to take screenshots.
"This year let's make 2024 about exploring India and experiencing our culture", the actor had written, sharing images which an online fact-checker claimed were actually of Maalhos, Hibalhidhoo, and Dharavandhoo islands in Baa Atoll, Maldives.
Others seem to have continued labouring under this misconception. Former cricketer Virender Sehwag shared a series of images, saying "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."
Sharing the image he added, "Bharat is knowing 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", asking his audience to name more such unexplored, beautiful places which were their favourites.
The third image turned out to be of the Bora Bora Island in French Polynesia.
Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan chimed in, "I have been to Lakshadweep and Andamans and they are such astonishingly beautiful locations", while reposting the images Sehwag shared, including the of Bora Bora.
Screengrab of Kiren Rijiju's reply on Ranveer Singh's post.
Stock photo of snorkelling.
Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Kiren Rijiju, had also replied to Ranveer Singh's post with images of snorkelling and scuba diving - both purportedly from the Maldives.
However, DH can verify that the image of snorkelling, reportedly shared by Rijiju, is a stock image.
Rijiju had also reportedly replied to Bachchan with the same images, but seems to have deleted it.
The Maldives government has distanced itself from the ministers' comments and reportedly suspended them as well. India is taking action too, with the Maldivian envoy being summoned today by the Ministry of External Affairs. Meanwhile, the Maldivian president and first lady have flown to China, a country whose presence in the Indian Ocean has long troubled New Delhi.
Israel, interestingly, has pitched for promoting Lakshadweep as a tourist destination amid this tiff.