As Twitter was once again forced to take down or withhold access to more than 50 tweets on its platform in India, the debate around transparency and freedom of speech has again surfaced. Twitter's action came in response to the government's legal request citing the Information Technology Act, 2000. The government had asked Twitter and other social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram to restrict access to listed critical posts which were conceived to invoke panic among the masses and obstruct the fight against the pandemic. Twitter was quick to take action as compared to other sites. Most of the withheld tweets were critical of the government's response to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no denying the fact that the healthcare system has collapsed badly in the country as world records of daily cases are made and broken every day. It is unclear what purpose is meant to be served through the removal of critical tweets. The essence of democracy allows, and in fact, necessitates severe criticism in the sort of crisis we are facing currently. The shortcomings will have to be discovered, and critical voices be heard if India is to bolster its fight against the pandemic. Transparency and criticism is the need of the hour. Any sort of opacity will further deteriorate the condition. Putting a curtain to the malice will not do away with its repercussions, it will instead allow it to grow unhindered and take larger forms. The clarification by Twitter that it reviews the flagged tweets under both local and Twitter laws to take subsequent action further narrows the scope of intended objectives behind the government's legal requests. The legal requests to take down tweets received by Twitter are detailed in the biannual Twitter Transparency Report and the requests to withhold access to the tweets are listed in the Harvard-backed Lumen Database. The micro-blogging site removes the content if it is found contrary to Twitter rules and merely withholds access at local levels if it is consistent with Twitter rules but inconsistent with local rules. To put it as a plain and simple fact, the entire world will still see those tweets but Indians will be blocked from doing so. The expectation of the government that it will avoid panic within the country by such actions seems futile as the destruction caused by the pandemic is not hidden by anyone. Numbers come daily and people talk about it in their spaces. It is also important to consider the utility of the micro-blogging site which has emerged as a global notice board. Twitter is perceived as a credible site where important statements and announcements are made by both local and global leaders from different spheres of work and life. The curtailing of access to the instant source of first-hand credible information will only lead to greater confusion and panic. It is important to notice the pattern that is evolving. Twitter's row with the government has escalated since February this year when the Centre had asked Twitter to remove around 1,178 accounts allegedly linked with Khalistan sympathisers in wake of the farmer's protest. While the effectiveness and scope of these sorts of actions is limited, they could potentially further dampen crisis situations. The greater question, however, remains that of free speech in one of the largest democracies in the world which is known to show the way to the rest of the world. It is about people's right to express their views and also their right to know things. It is not the knowledge of facts that creates panic but the lack of it. The tweets removed included that of parliamentarian Revanth Reddy, West Bengal Minister Moloy Ghatak, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, former journalist Vinod Kapri among others. Lawmakers and journalists are one of the most credible sources of information within a country. The question here apparently is not about misinformation. It is about the information or views that are perceived to cause panic. Interpretation of such criteria is vague and subjective, and values as high as freedom of expression and knowledge cannot be put at stake on account of those. The nation is going through tough times and authorities need to avoid thin-skinned behaviour. Rather than diverting ourselves from the real issue, we must focus on tackling the pandemic which is raging in the country like anything. Going behind trivial pursuits may be a waste of time, energy and resources which urgently need to be channelled in the right direction.