RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Others Lose Twitter Blue Ticks After Veep Naidu

Like Venkaiah Naidu, the verification badges for the RSS functionaries were dropped for "inactivity", sources in the organisation said.

Five senior functionaries of the ruling BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have lost their blue tick verification badges on Twitter, shortly after similar action against the personal account of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu that was overturned on Sunday. RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat, his colleagues Suresh Soni, Arun Kumar, Suresh Joshi and Krishna Kumar were among the accounts that lost the verification badges, according to sources in the right-wing volunteer organisation. The blue tick purge has set up a new flashpoint between the government and Twitter, who have been in an escalating standoff since the social media company classified certain posts by a few BJP leaders targeting the opposition Congress as "manipulated". Mr Naidu's blue tick was restored within a few hours, reportedly when objections were raised by the Vice President's office. The Ministry of Electronics and IT is likely to issue notice to Twitter asking why this was done without "prior intimation". "This is contempt of a constitutional post. Twitter wants to test India's patience," government sources said.