Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Warns Action Against IAS Officer for Mocking Girl for Asking Sanitary Pads

Patna: A senior bureaucrat in Bihar has sparked a controversy with her insensitive ‘condom’ remark while responding to a girl’s question in a programme on Wednesday. As the video of Bihar’s Women Development Corporation Managing Director Harjot Kaur Bamrah went viral on social media, she expressed her regret over the incident. 

The government had organised a programme ‘Sashakt Beti, Samridh Bihar’ in which a government school student had posed this question to the government official, “When the government is providing us school uniform, scholarship and so many things, why can’t it provide Whisper [a brand of sanitary pads] of Rs 20-30?” 

A visibly shocked IAS official rebuked her and said, “Tomorrow, you attain the age of family planning and you would expect the government to provide Nirodh (condom) too.”

Later, another student raises the issues of broken toilet door at her school, which boys could enter, the officer asks her, “Tell me, do you have separate toilets at your home for males and females? If you keep asking for a lot of things at different places, how will it work?”

बच्ची के सवाल पर IAS का जवाब- आज पैड मांग रही हो, कल कंडोम मांगोगी!#harjotKaurbhamra #IASA2022 #harjotkaur #Bihar #harjot_kaur_bhamra #harjotkaurbamhrah #IAS pic.twitter.com/NbqAgqlo2b

— Mohammad Altaf Ali (@MdAltafAli15) September 29, 2022

“The government is doing so much but why should we depend on the government for everything?” Kaur asks the students further.

My question (on sanitary pads) wasn't wrong. They aren't a big thing, I can buy but many live in slums & can't afford them. So, I asked question not just for myself but for all girls. We went there to keep our concern & not to fight: Riya Kumari who asked question to IAS officer https://t.co/zoYoGyNPo1 pic.twitter.com/CJ9znhelNj

— ANI (@ANI) September 29, 2022

Taking cognisance of the issue, the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said action will be taken against the senior IAS officer who had made this unacceptable remark. He has also called the meeting to discuss the issue. 

Meanwhile, National Commission for Women (NCW) has condemned the incident and sought a written explanation for the replies that Kaur gave to the students. 

“The reply must be communicated within seven days,” said NCW after coming across various social media posts regarding the ‘embarrassing’ incident.

Also Read: Watch: Another Video of Thief Dangling from Train Goes Viral in Bihar