V-P’S VERIFIED BADGE REMOVED ON TWITTER, THEN RESTORED

Twitter on Saturday removed and later restored the blue verified badges on the personal account of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Officials of the Vice President Secretariat said the personal Twitter handle of Naidu @Mvenkaiahnaidu was inactive for a long time and the Twitter algorithm removed the blue badge. The last tweet posted from the personal handle was on July 23 last year.

Twitter also removed the blue verified badges from the accounts of top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders, including its chief Mohan Bhagwat -- it later restored it for four accounts. It was not immediately clear why the badges, which certify that an account of public interest is authentic, of the RSS leaders were removed.

An RSS functionary said the badges were removed sometime in March, but no explanation was offered.