Amid row between the central government and microblogging site Twitter, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar started using new indigenously developed social media platform ‘Koo’.  Javadekar joins the list of several other Indian ministers, who have been using the new app. The IT minister made the announcement on Twitter, tweeting, “I am now on #Koo also, the #MakeInIndia micro-blogging platform. Follow me @prakashjavadekar on #KooApp.”  

‘Koo’, launched 10 months ago, saw a massive surge in its users in the last week after some union ministers and government departments endorsed the app, which came alongside a spat of the Centre with Twitter.  

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Earlier, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, Commerce, and Industry, also announced on Twitter that he has joined Koo, asking people to connect with him on the homegrown app. 

Koo is developed by a private corporation Bombinate Technologies Pvt Ltd and often termed Desi Twitter for its uncanny resemblance to the US microblogging site. The app, which has a yellow bird logo contrasting Twitter’s blue bird, has now over three million users, Koo co-founder Mayank Bidawataka had told PTI on Thursday.

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The union ministers have started to join Koo as the IT ministry has used Koo to broadcast its stand on Twitter’s non-compliance with its order to take down allegedly inflammatory content by some farmer protesters, reports PTI. The recent developments have led to a massive surge in Koo’s user base. 

As of now, Twitter has 17.5 million users in India and is ardently used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet ministers to communicate with the public.