Hitting out against the use “humiliating graffiti,” the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday issued a notice to the Rajasthan government over State authorities painting “I am poor” on the homes of below poverty line (BPL) families.

Taking suo motu cognisance of media reports, the NHRC said that the phrase “I am poor, I take ration through National Food Security Act” written in Hindi had been found on the walls of at least 50,000 BPL families in Rajasthan’s Dausa dsitrict.

As reported in The Hindu on June 22, the local authorities had claimed that the move was as per previous directions of the Rajasthan government, with the aim of identifying beneficiaries of food subsidies and preventing pilferage.

The NHRC observed that the case pointed toward a violation of the Right to Dignity of the beneficiaries of the subsidy scheme. As per reports in the media, the residents affected by the move said they had been humiliated.

“No civilized society would ever appreciate such an imprudent and irrational act of the State authorities,” the NHRC observed in a statement.

While issuing notice to the Rajasthan Chief Secretary, the NHRC asked for a detailed report within four weeks as well as information on the action taken against the officials involved.

As per a media report on June 23, the Rajasthan Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Rajendra Rathore had said the BJP government had not issued any such order and that the practice was initiated by the previous government in 2009.