Twitter restored the verified blue tick to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Twitter handle on Saturday. It had been removed a few hours earlier.
Twitter clarified that the blue badge and verified status could be automatically removed from an account if it is incomplete or inactive for six months as per its rules.
The verified status of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s personal Twitter has also been restored hours after it was removed due to “prolonged inactivity”.
Apart from Bhagwat, his colleagues Suresh Soni, Arun Kumar, Suresh Joshi and Krishna Kumar had also the blue tick on Saturday.
The blue tick on Twitter handles is to let people know that the social media account is authentic. It said to receive the blue badge, the person’s account must be authentic, notable, and active.
Accounts holders that sport the blue badge must also ensure that their profiles are complete and include either a verified email address or phone number as well as a profile image and a display name, as per the rules
Rajiv Tuli, a functionary in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) Delhi unit, in a PTI report, stated that this “clearly shows biasness and a clear example of ‘tech feudalism’ by Twitter”.
He cited several Twitter handles which have been “inactive but continue to remain verified”.