Telegram has taken an unusually direct and sarcastic approach on X after the Indian government imposed a temporary restriction on the messaging platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. The restriction was announced as part of efforts to prevent the spread of fake paper leak claims and exam-related fraud before the June 21 re-test. Authorities also directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India for a limited period.
Sarcastic Responses from Telegram
Since the restriction, Telegram's official X account has been replying to users with sarcasm. One notable exchange occurred when Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram questioned the government's decision. He wrote, "Seriously! blocking @telegram is the master stroke to prevent examination paper leaks?" Telegram replied, "You should also shut down all the shopping malls since there might be a theft in one of them. And close the roads because I heard someone was speeding."
When a user argued that the comparison did not work, saying malls are not shut down for theft but also do not allow known thieves to operate openly, Telegram responded again: "Try harder. Malls stop crimes when they are aware – so does Telegram. No matter how actively anyone polices, misuse happens."
Continued Sarcasm and Moderation Claims
The platform also replied sarcastically when a user asked whether Telegram was still working in India. "Make sure to thank your government for being so competent!" the official account wrote. On allegations that extremist groups had operated on the platform, Telegram shared a graphic showing its moderation efforts. The image stated that Telegram had blocked 109,351 terrorist-related communities in 2026 and had published daily transparency reports on terrorist content removals since 2016.
In another interaction, a user wrote: "Telegram trolling the Indian govt was not on my list....." Telegram responded, "wasn't on mine either".
CEO Pavel Durov Hits Back
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov also hit back at the government's action on Tuesday, saying the one-week restriction punished more than 150 million ordinary users rather than those responsible for leaking exam material. "This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India, not the insiders who leaked the exam materials. And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps," Durov wrote.
