In the past couple of years, 'selfie' has emerged as the go-to method for campaigns and various government schemes. Be it the selfie with daughter, selfie with cow, selfie with ink, governments across states have been promoting it religiously.

But what the Madhya Pradesh government has just asked newly-weds in the state is taking this to an all-new level.

Applicants under ‘Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojna’ are being told in Madhya Pradesh if they want to get married and the brides-to-be want to become eligible to receive Rs 51,000 under the scheme.

As per the government scheme, brides from economically backward sections of the state are eligible to receive Rs 51,000 provided they prove that the groom’s house has a toilet before the wedding. And for that, it has been made mandatory for the groom to click a selfie while standing in the toilet in his residence.

According to the government, the initiative is aimed at ensuring that toilets are constructed in every household in the state.

Officials stated that the toilet clause was there since the launch of the scheme in 2013, but the photographs are a recent addition.

“We submit the forms of applicants under the scheme to the municipal corporation. It requires two affidavits and a selfie of the groom inside the toilet of their residence. The form is rejected and the couples are not allowed to get married in the ‘sammelan’ if the picture is not submitted,” Mukhtar Hassan who runs Zara Hassan Welfare Samiti told ANI.

BCCL/ FILE

“I had submitted the form and was asked to submit a selfie inside a toilet. When I objected, they said that if we don’t submit the picture, our form will not be approved,” Muhammad Yusuf who got married on Thursday in a mass ceremony at Central Library Ground in Bhopal said.

Another groom Mohammad Saddam said instead of checking selfies, government officials should visit houses to ensure if toilets had indeed been constructed. “Why do we have to submit a selfie? We can as easily take a picture in any toilet. A government official should come and see if there is a toilet in the house.”

Sofia, a bride at the community wedding, however, welcomed the initiative and said: “It is not wrong to ensure that there is a toilet in a house. I think this is a good decision.”

This is not the first time 'selfie' has been associated with the Swachh Bharat campaign.

A couple of years ago, the Rajasthan government had asked primary school teachers in rural areas to click selfies with people seen relieving themselves in the open, in an attempt to discourage open defecation.