Twitter on Saturday morning briefly removed the blue check mark from the personal handle of India’s Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, ANI reported. This blue tick, displayed on a user’s profile, is viewed as an indicator of legitimacy.

“The personal account of Venkaiah Naidu was inactive for six months and the blue badge has gone,” an official from the vice president’s office told the news agency. The last tweet from the account was posted on July 23, 2020.

The official account of the vice president of India, @VPSecratariat, is still verified. Naidu’s office said Twitter was working to restore verification of his personal handle after they raised objections, NDTV reported.

The development comes at a time when tension has been brewing between Twitter and the Narendra Modi government due to an alleged Congress document or “tookit” and new information technology rules.

According to the social media giant, the blue check marks on Twitter signify that an account of public interest is authentic. To be verified, accounts must have been active in the last six months and fit one of several criteria: government, companies, brands and organisations, news outlets and journalists, entertainment, sports and gaming, activists, organisers and other influential individuals.

The company has said that verification can be removed at any time and without notice. “You may lose your badge if you change your account name (@handle), if your account becomes inactive or incomplete, or if you are no longer in the position you initially were verified for – such as an elected government official who leaves office – and you do not otherwise meet our criteria for verification,” the rules said.