[India] Bihar minister in below poverty line list

from The Hindustan Times

Believe it or not, the name of a cabinet minister in Bihar's Nitish Kumar government figures in the list of people living below poverty line(BPL).

Baidyanath Prasad Mahto, the state's Rural Development Minister, under whose supervision the new BPL list is being prepared, is himself shocked over inclusion of his name in the list from his native Pakadia village.

"I have been given just six points instead of 42 despite the fact that I have a pucca house, a jeep and also farmland," he said.

The minister, however, said an inquiry by the Tirhut Divisional Commissioner ordered by him on Sunday found that his name was 'inadvertently' included in the list.

Mahto said the inquiry revealed that though his name was not in the master copy, it was present in the subsequent copies due to an error in entry made by the computer operator while composing.

"I have asked the concerned authorities to rectify the mistake," he said.