A fresh controversy has erupted in Madhya Pradesh after senior IAS officer Santosh Verma made a provocative remark during the provincial convention of AJJAKS, the association of employees belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories. Verma reportedly made an objectionable remark about Brahmin girls, triggering sharp backlash from the Brahmin community and prompting demands for strict action.
The remark was made by the newly elected provincial president of the Anusuchit Jati-Janjati Adhikari Karmachari Sangh (AJJAKS) during the organisation's provincial convention held at Ambedkar Maidan, Second Stop, on November 23.
Reservation must stay until a Brahmin donates...:
"Reservations should continue utill a Brahmin donates his daughter to my son or has a relationship with him," Verma reportedly said at the event held in Bhopal's Ambedkar Maidan on Sunday.
Brahmin community demands strict action
The moment the video of this statement surfaced online, it triggered widespread outrage.
The All India Brahmin Society condemned the statement, calling it a direct insult to the community. The organisation's state president, Pushpendra Mishra, said the IAS officer had used indecent and objectionable language, unacceptable from a senior bureaucrat.
"The All India Brahmin Society requests the Chief Minister to address the situation. The Brahmin community is in a state of anger. We will request the Chief Minister to expel such a person with immediate effect, otherwise there will be protests across the state, and the government and administration will be held fully accountable," Mishra said.
"This is against All India Service ethics and tampering with Brahmin honor, indecent and objectionable. In a BJP government where the Ladli Laxmi and Ladli Behna schemes are implemented and the Prime Minister runs the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" campaign, it is not right for an All India Service officer to make unparliamentary remarks about daughters," he added.
My aim was not to create a political uproar: IAS officer
On his alleged controversial statement, Verma said that his aim was not to create a political uproar. He said, "At a meeting of the state unit of AJJAKS, one agenda item for discussion was that reservations should be based on economic grounds, not religious basis. On this subject, I had said that if I am financially independent and not socially backward anymore, then my children should receive 'roti-beti' treatment from society."
"I don't have ill will against any community. I did not want to hurt women's sentiments. I express regret if I have hurt anyone. But some people propagated only a portion of what I had said. Those who have fanned this controversy have taken only one line from the speech I had made," he added.
