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Updated December 12th, 2021 at 07:16 IST

PM Modi's personal Twitter account briefly compromised, 'tweets to be ignored' says PMO

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal Twitter handle was briefly hacked in the early hours of Sunday, informed the PM's office. His account has been restored

PM Modi
IMAGE: BJP Twitter | Image:self
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal Twitter handle was briefly hacked in the early hours of Sunday, informed the PM's office. Taking to Twitter, PMO stated, "The Twitter handle of PM @narendramodi was very briefly compromised. The matter was escalated to Twitter and the account has been immediately secured. In the brief period that the account was compromised, any Tweet shared must be ignored."

Narendra Modi's personal handle compromised

As per the screenshots shared on Twitter by several users, tweets were put out from PM Modi's personal account claiming "India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender". The now-deleted tweet read, "India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender. The government has officially bought 500 BTC and is distributing them to all residents of the country".

Previously in 2020, PM Modi's official website's Twitter account @narendramodi_in was compromised and later restored after Twitter probed into the situation. Similarly, the account had tweeted “I appeal to you all to donate generously to PM National Relief Fund for Covid-19, Now India begin with cryptocurrency. Kindly Donate Bitcoin”. Later, the hacker revealed, "Yes this account is hacked by John Wick (hckindia@tutanota.com), We have not hacked Paytm Mall”.

Centre to table Cryptocurrency bill

This hacked push for cryptocurrencies comes amid the Centre's plan to table the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 in the upcoming winter session of the parliament. The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 will outlaw all private cryptocurrencies in India with 'some exceptions'  to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will establish its own digital money since investor money security and deceptive media promotions on such investment have long been a source of concern. Centre will also set a 3-6 month exit period prior to banning the trading, mining and issuing of cryptos. The bill is still under discussion and is yet to pass Cabinet approval.

Currently, India has two crypto unicorns namely CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX. Many industry leaders have urged the government to take a nuanced approach towards regulating crypto assets in India. Companies have asserted that India is home to the highest number of crypto owners in the world and a nuanced bill would help India become the global leader in crypto, Defi, and NFTs. 

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Published December 12th, 2021 at 07:16 IST

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