India: Row over New Zealand High Commission's request of oxygen cylinder

The New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi issued an SOS call for the need for an oxygen cylinder in India’s capital, on Sunday.

"@sosiyc @srinivasiyc Could you please help with the oxygen cylinder urgently at the New Zealand High Commission? Thank you," the tweet read, which was later deleted.

However, the High Commission quickly followed that deleted tweet with another tweet explaining the reason behind the same. "We are trying all sources to arrange for oxygen cylinders urgently and our appeal has unfortunately been misinterpreted, for which we are sorry," the high commission clarified.

The IYC also claimed that the patient inside the high commission was "critically ill".

"Update- New Zealand high commission opened gates of the embassy and accepted cylinders," a follow-up tweet stated. "Also, they thanked the #SOSIYC team for this quick relief as patient inside embassy was critically ill."

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This caused a row of accusations on Twitter, with many alleging the tweet was deleted under pressure — but no proof was given to back these allegations.

It also coincided with another spat over a case of the Philippines Embassy, prompting an exchange of tweets between senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The Congress minister had accused the government of not helping the foreign embassies — a claim that was proved false by the EAM.

"MEA checked with the Philippines Embassy. This was an unsolicited supply as they had no Covid cases. Clearly for cheap publicity by you know who. Giving away cylinders like this when there are people in desperate need of oxygen is simply appalling," Jaishankar clarified in a tweet. "Jairamji, MEA never sleeps; our people know across the world. MEA also never fakes; we know who does."