Rahul debuts on Twitter, 'Office of RG' tweets about schedule

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi finally has an official Twitter account but it may be a while before it starts putting out tweets regulary.

A day after its debut on Twitter, 'Office of RG' has acknowledged it is the official account of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

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"Watch this space for information and updates on Rahul Gandhi's official programs and upcoming events," said the first tweet on Thursday.

The account which had over 16 thousand followers by Thursday noon will tweet highlights of his ongoing campaigns, public speeches and statements to the media.

Congress sources insisted it was not a personal account and that his office would take care of the twitter handle.

Gandhi had so far stayed away from the social media, a move seen by political experts as a chink in his campaigns in a country that has millions of Twitter users.

In comparison, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has over 12 million followers and Aam Aadmi party chief Arvind Kejriwal has over 4.3 million. Active social media campaigns were part of their election to power.

Since he returned from a recent sabbatical, Gandhi has actively taken up issues including net neutrality, and a section of the Congress felt his absence from the social media was not helping his cause.

Sources said Gandhi had stayed away from Twitter so far as he was apprehensive of being trolled by hired and freelance followers of political rivals.

Before the account was verified, knives were out for him in twitterdom. "Arrogance Personified , He didn't open his account, instead @OfficeOfRG.. Behaving like a monarch," said a tweet from @piyushkaul. "Breaking: Rahul Gandhi is on Twitter now: @OfficeOfRG. Direct your jokes here," tweeted @GabbbarSingh.

Hundreds of others were wondering aloud whether it was a fake account and why he had nothing to say.