“One day you will ask for free condoms,” Bihar IAS officer's blooper in a discussion with young girls

New Delhi: At an event held in Patna, on ‘enhancing value of girls’, IAS officer Harjot Kaur Bhamra gave some pretty sarcastic replies when some girls from slum asked about giving sanitary napkins for Rs 20-30.

At the event, a school going girl from Patna asked the IAS officer if the government can provide sanitary pads for Rs 20-30.

But what caught attention was the reply from the officer.

Bhamra replied, “Tomorrow you’ll say the government should give jeans too. And why not some beautiful shoes after that?”

Furthermore, she added, “You will eventually expect the government will give you Nirodh (condom) also for family planning.”

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The conversation in Hindi took place on the stage of an ongoing event “Sashakt Beti, Sashakt Bihar”. Harjot Kaur Bhamra herself heads the Women and Child development corporation of the state. The event was organised on Tuesday in partnership with UNICEF and some other organisations.

The officer then said, “Why do you need to take anything from the government? This way of thinking is wrong. Do it yourself.”

When countered with why government schemes exist at all, IAS officer said, “There’s a need to change the thinking.”

She then turned to the girls sitting on the stage and said “You have to decide where you want to see yourself in the future. You will have to make this decision yourself. The government cannot do this for you. Do you want to sit where you are, or on the side I am sitting on?”

Girls also raised the issue of toilets at the girls’ school and said that it is in poor condition. When they said that the boys often enter the toilets, the 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?”

The video of this event has gone viral and netizens are bombarding the internet with hateful comments.

And even though the videos clearly show the conversation which happened between them, Bhamra said, “It’s false, malicious and wrong reporting of the event.” 

She said, “I am known to be one of the most vociferous champions of women rights and empowerment. Some mischievous elements against whom stringent action have been taken by WCDC for omission and commission of wrongdoings, having lost at each forum, have now resorted to such low attempts to malign my reputation.”