'Twitter needs to comply with the law of the land,' says govt on IT rules

'Twitter's claims are an attempt to dictate its terms to the world's largest democracy,' says Centre

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Thursday responded to Twitter's statement expressing concern over the "potential threat to freedom of expression in India and intimidation tactics by the police".

The government told the social media giant to "stop beating around the bush and comply with the laws of the land".

The government said it strongly controverts the claims made by Twitter today in its press release. "India has a glorious tradition of free speech and democratic practices dating back centuries."

"We condemn Twitter's statement as baseless, false and an attempt to defame India to hide their follies."