An IAS officer courted controversy after her shocking reply to a schoolgirl in Bihar who asked her if there is a possibility of the government providing sanitary pads at affordable prices.
Source- Zee News
Harjot Kaur Bamhrah, who is the managing director of Bihar Women Development Corporation, said, “Today you are asking for sanitary pads, tomorrow you will ask for condoms.” The exchange of words took place at a workshop which was named ‘Sashakt Beti, Samriddh Bihar’.
“When the government has been doing so many things for us, including giving us uniforms and scholarships, why can’t it give sanitary pads, which would cost only Rs 20-Rs 30?” the student asked. Her question was followed by applause from the audience, a video of the incident which is being widely shared on social media showed.
Amid the applause, she retorted, “I want to ask something to the ones who are clapping — is there any end to these demands? Tomorrow you will ask anything from the government – be it jeans or shoes. Then when it comes to family planning, you would also expect condoms from the government. What is the need to have such expectations? Why should the government provide everything for free?”
Source- The English Post
She added that the government is already providing for citizens and that expecting everything from them is wrong.. To this, the girl pointed out that the government was duty-bound to provide citizens with certain facilities as they seek their votes.
The officer responded, “This is stupidity. Be like Pakistan then. Do you only vote for money and services only?” The student hit back saying, “I am an Indian.”
However, the shocker did not end here. Responding to the complaint by a student who alleged that the girls’ toilet in her school remains in dilapidated condition and that boys often enter, the IAS officer said, “Tell me, do you have separate toilets at home? If you keep asking for a lot of things at different places, how will it work?”
On Wednesday, Bamhrah responded to the criticism claiming that there was a deliberate attempt to malign her, NDTV reported.
Source- NDTV
“I am known to be one of the most vociferous champions of women’s rights and empowerment,” the officer claimed. “Some mischievous elements against whom stringent action has been taken by WCDC [Women and Child Development Corporation] have now resorted to such low attempts to malign my reputation.”
Bihar’s Social Welfare Minister Madan Sahani said that the officer should not have discouraged the girls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also said that incident defeated the very purpose of the workshop. “It was very irresponsible and insensitive on part of the officer to speak in the manner she did,” BJP spokesperson Santosh Pathak said. “And there was no need to make a Pakistan reference at all.”
