Bhopal: A farmer from Madhya Pradesh was declared the ‘poorest man in India’ by netizens after his income certificate – issued by the Tehsildar of Kothi in the Satna district of the state – went viral on social media. The document declared that the farmer earns only Rs 3 per year or 25 paise per month.
The certificate was immediately withdrawn by the administration that claimed that the goof-up was the result of a ‘clerical error’. A fresh certificate was issued with the correct information.
The certificate was issued to Ramswaroop (45), a resident of the Nayagaon village in Kothi Tehsil in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna. The document, issued on July 22, had tehsildar Saurabh Dwivedi’s full signature on it. It went viral on social media within the next few days.
Officials swung into action immediately and a new certificate was issued on July 25. It stated that the farmer’s annual income is Rs 30,000, or Rs 2,500 per month. Dwivedi clarified that, “it was a clerical error, which has been corrected”, adding that a new income certificate has been issued.
The Madhya Pradesh Congress was quick to latch on to the issue. The party took to social media to slam the BJP government in the state for creating such a blunder. They shared a post along with a photograph of the original certificate, saying that the government is on a mission to make people poor.
“In MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s rule, we discovered India’s poorest man! Annual income: just Rs 3!” the Congress stated in its post, adding: “Isn’t it shocking? A mission to make people poor? Because now the chair itself eats the commission.”