Twitter Inc. criticized the Indian government today over a freedom of speech issue just days after police turned up at the company’s offices.

What elicited the criticism was law enforcement walking into Twitter’s Indian office and serving a notice to the company for the alleged transgression of mislabeling a post from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Prior to this, politicians from the party had taken to Twitter and posted a document that was apparently created by the opposition party and was an instruction guide about how to criticize the government properly over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s reported that the opposition party then contacted Twitter and claimed the document was a forgery. Subsequently, Twitter labeled posts with the said document as “manipulated media.” According to Twitter rules, this label is attached to content that has been “deceptively altered or fabricated.”

Police later arrived at Twitter’s offices and said in a statement, “Twitter has some information which is not known to us on the basis of which they have classified it as such.” The notice asked Twitter to take down content that criticized the government’s handling of the pandemic, as well as posts about farmers’ protests, many of which were posted by politicians, journalists and activists.

The Indian government has been called out by critics for implementing strict rules regarding online behavior and in doing so silencing its critics, especially on social media platforms such as Twitter. If Twitter fails to adhere to the government’s demands, its executives in the country could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

“We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global terms of service, as well as with core elements of the new IT rules,” Twitter said in a statement to media. It added that it was concerned about its staff in India and the “the potential threat to freedom of expression.”

That rankled the government, which said Twitter is trying to dictate what happens in the country by undermining the legal system. “Twitter needs to stop beating about the bush and comply with the laws of the land,” the government said in a press release.

“We plan to advocate for changes to elements of these regulations that inhibit free, open public conversation,” Twitter said as part of a series of tweets today. “We will continue our constructive dialogue with the Indian Government and believe it is critical to adopt a collaborative approach.”

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