US flays India directive on critical tweets

New Delhi, April 27

While the US Government is finalising a mega assistance package for India, the White House has disapproved of the Indian Government’s directive to Twitter and other social media platforms to take down posts critical of its handling of the current medical crisis.

“That certainly wouldn’t be aligned with our view of freedom of speech around the world,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. But for that disagreement, the US Government is “working nonstop” to urgently deliver supplies most needed within India, said US State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

Price, however, found himself in a spot when asked why did it take the US so long to offer assistance. Asked whether it was because China had offered help or because of the media stories about India, Price said the US had offered $19 million in assistance (Rs 140 crore) from the earliest days of this pandemic.

“So it is certainly not the case that this is the start of our engagement, but we recognise that as the outbreak has taken incredibly concerning turns in India, that there was more we could do,” he said. — TNS