The official X account of Telegram has publicly opposed the central government’s decision to temporarily block the app, comparing the move to shutting down shopping malls because of a theft or closing roads because someone was speeding.The messaging app Telegram has been banned in India till June 22. (Unsplash)Messaging app Telegram has been blocked in India till June 22, with the government saying that it has been used to "defraud candidates" taking the national medical entrance examination.‘Shut down malls, close roads’On June 16, Congress leader Karti Chidambaram criticised the Telegram ban in an X post. “Seriously! blocking Telegram is the master stroke to prevent examination paper leaks?” he questioned, tagging the National Testing Agency (NTA).The official X account of Telegram Messenger replied to Chidambaram, taking the logic behind the ban one step further. “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,” Telegram posted.Earlier, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov had also opposed the ban, saying it punished ordianary users who had nothing to do with the paper leak.He said that the ban affects and “punishes” 150M+ ordinary users in India and not those who leaked the papers.“India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions. This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials,” he said on X.(Also read: ‘Leaks moved to other apps’: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov criticises temporary ban ahead of NEET-UG re-exam)Telegram banned temporarily in IndiaThe Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), acting on recommendations made by the National Testing Agency (NTA), has issued a direction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to the Telegram platform in India for a defined and limited period ending June 22, 2026 covering the day of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination and its immediate aftermath.(Also read: Telegram ban triggers jokes, doubts and viral memes ahead of NEET re-test)A separate direction requires Telegram to disable in India the message-editing feature for already-posted messages till June 30, addressing the specific structural feature through which the platform has been used to fabricate after-the-event "paper leak" evidence in respect of national examinations, the NTA said in a statement."Both measures have been taken in the interest of public order, in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled on 21 June 2026," the NTA said, according to news agency PTI.