Twitter came under heavy fire on Thursday for briefly removing Home Minister Amit Shah profile picture over copyright claims, hours after reports said the Central government had served a notice to the microblogging platform over a map error.

Around 11:40 pm, users noticed that Twitter had removed the profile picture of the home minister's official account, claiming the action was taken "in response to a report from a copyright holder".

The website restored the home minister's profile photo after users started criticizing the move.

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Twitter ban trends after social media backlashREUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Twitter ban trends after fierce backlash

"Dear @Twitter, Are you fricking crazy to remove the DP of a verified handle who also happens to be the HM of India claiming report from a copyright holder," Vijay, a Twitter user wrote.

"What is this behaviour @TwitterIndia? Who has copyright on @AmitShah's pic," Mr Sinha, another user asked.

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Amit Shah's Twitter DP removed

#TwitterBan trended on the microblogging site for over an hour, with users showing anger against it for failing to correct its mistake of showing Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir instead of a separate Union Territory.

Twitter got served

Notably, the Central government has sent a notice to Twitter, asking it to explain within five working days as to why it showed Leh, the capital of Union Territory of Ladakh, as part of Jammu and Kashmir, a separate Union Territory.

According to government sources, if Twitter doesn't respond or if its response is not "satisfactory", the government can take action against it including a police case and blocking access to Twitter under the Information Technology Act.

Twitter logo
Courtesy: Reuters

In a notice to Twitter, the government said that showing Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir was a "deliberate attempt by the social media platform to undermine the will of sovereign parliament of India which had declared Ladakh as a Union Territory with its headquarters in Leh," NDTV reported citing sources.

The notice asked Twitter as to why the government should not take action against it for "disrespecting the territorial integrity of India by showing incorrect map."

Memes galore

The news of the possibility of a ban on Twitter sparked a barrage of memes on social media sites.

Here are some of the best tweets under the hashtag:

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