Indian celebrities and politicians ranging from Bollywood mega stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several chief ministers lost verified blue ticks on their Twitter accounts after Elon Musk’s microblogging site started removing check mark icons from accounts that did not pay Rs 650 per month subscription fee.

Twitter has begun removing the check mark, which had for years meant that Twitter had verified the identity of the user behind an account, from the profiles of thousands of celebrities, politicians and journalists on Thursday, a PTI report stated yesterday.

The blue tick was considered something of a status symbol but under Musk, who bought Twitter for  $44 billion in October, the social media service is now charging individuals a monthly fee of Rs 650 on the web and Rs 900 on mobile devices to maintain their verification status.

The microblogging platform also offers a discounted annual plan of Rs 6,800 per year. Musk had previously stated that those who did not pay will lose their check marks.

Among those whose accounts no longer had blue tick was the Twitter handle of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has 27 million followers on the microblogging website. Rahul Gandhi with 23.3 million followers too lost his blue tick.

Several other chief ministers, including Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, Eknath Shinde of Maharashtra, M K Stalin of Tamil Nadu, and Nitish Kumar of Bihar, too lost their verified icons.

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who has 38.6 million followers on Twitter, also lost the blue tick.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers as well as Twitter handles of political parties, including BJP and Congress, continued to display vitrified marks.

Other celebrities whose blue ticks were removed included Ajay Devgn, Aia Bhatt, Akshay Kumar, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit, Anushka Sharma and Anil Kapoor, among others.

Musk had initially proposed charging $20 monthly for verification, but later lowered it to $8 after blowback. He had previously stated that verified accounts would lose their badges in early April, but pruning has begun only now.

“Tomorrow, 4/20, we are removing legacy verified checkmarks,” the company said in a statement on Twitter, “To remain verified on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue.” It also gave the link for organisations to sign up for verified organisations.

Blue Tick Losers React: In another report from Mumbai, PTI reported that some are joking, while others were sarcastic as celebrities had a field day on Twitter after losing their verified status on the social media platform.

Bachchan, an active user of Twitter, had a funny response after the blue tick got removed from his official page.

“Aye Twitter bhaiya! Sun rahe hain? Ab to paisa bhee bhar diye hain ham. Toh u jo neel kamal hot hai na, hamaar naam ke aage, u to vaapas lagaay den bhaiya, taaki log jaan jaayen kee ham hee hain – Haath to jod liye rahe ham. Ab ka, godava jode padee ka?? (sic). (Hey Twitter bro! Are you listening? Now that I’ve even paid the money, please put back that blue tick mark in front of my name, so that people know that it’s me),” the veteran actor tweeted.

Actor Aditi Rao Hydari wrote, “Once upon a time there was a blue tick… did @Twitter and I live happily ever after?! #GoFigure” .

Vir Das had a sarcastic response to the platform’s decision. “I like this world. To verify an artist, buy tickets, not ticks (sic). Bye blue tick. I’m okay with someone impersonating me on twitter. YOU deal with the things they call me (sic),” he wrote.

Actor Prakash Raj posted, “Bye bye #BlueTick …. It was nice having you….my journey ..my conversations..my sharing…will continue with my people … you take care.”

‘Rockstar’ actor Nargis Fakhri wondered what’s the point of having a blue tick when one can pay for it.

“I never really come on here. I just noticed I’m no longer verified with that blue thingy. So now everyone with a blue check pays a fee for it. Hmm okay. If anyone can buy it then what’s the point,” she tweeted.

Actor-turned-politician Khushbu Sundar said her subscription ends next year in March but yet her account has been unverified.

“My account says subscription will end on 17th March 2024, yet it says it is canceled. I have paid for a year. Why does it stand canceled @TwitterBlue ?,” she said.

TV star Kaushik said, “I’l be here tomorrow Freely Tangled up, Triggering a few, loving n loved by few, misunderstood by many n vibe with few but Mainly UNVERIFIED (sic).”