Twitter removes verification tick from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s account

Earlier in the day, it came to light that Twitter removed the blue tick from the handles of various RSS leaders. It also removed the badge from vice president M Venkaiah Naidu’s personal account, though it was restored just hours later.

Twitter on Saturday removed the blue verification badge from the personal account of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, on a day it came to light the badge was also removed from the accounts of a number of RSS leaders. Bhagwat’s account was opened in May 2019, follows only one handle and has more than 200,000 followers.

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Earlier in the day, the social media giant removed the tick from the handles of RSS leaders, such as joint general secretaries Krishna Gopal and Arun Kumar, former general secretary Suresh “Bhaiyyaji” Joshi, and current “sampark pramukh” Anirudh Deshpande.

An RSS functionary told Hindustan Times the badges were removed in March but no explanation was offered. “If they claim it was done because the accounts were inactive, they should’ve informed us. There has been no communication from their side,” the functionary said.

According to Twitter’s rules, the tick is removed if an account becomes “inactive.” A Twitter spokesperson cited the same rule when explaining why the badge was removed from the personal handle of vice president M Venkaiah Naidu; the badge was restored within hours after major outrage. The last tweet from Naidu’s personal handle was put out on July 23, 2020.

No tweet has been posted from Bhagwat’s account nor has the company restored the tick on the accounts of other RSS leaders. However, several social media users have pointed to accounts that still have the blue tick despite being inactive for a long time.