Condom comment: CM Nitish hints at taking action against IAS officer

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday (September 29) hinted that action may be taken against senior woman IAS officer Harjot Kaur Bamhrah whose condom comment to a schoolgirl has caused a major embarrassment for his government.

The officer has, meanwhile, issued a signed statement expressing regret over the controversy that arose after a purported video footage of the September 27 function went viral on social media.

Also read: ‘Want condoms too?’: Bihar IAS officer to schoolgirl asking for sanitary pads

Nitish, who was approached by journalists with queries about the National Commission for Women (NCW) slapping a notice on Bamhrah, said, “Orders are in place to inquire into the issue which I learnt about through newspapers. We are committed to providing all assistance to the state’s women. If the IAS officer’s behaviour is found to be against that spirit, action will be taken.”

Bamhrah is an Additional Chief Secretary rank officer who also heads the state’s women and child development commission.

At a state-level workshop organised in collaboration with UNICEF, she had rebuked a  schoolgirl who requested that the government, which gives many doles such as free bicycles and school uniforms, should also consider providing free sanitary napkins.

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“Is there any end to such demands? Tomorrow you can ask for jeans, then beautiful shoes and finally, when it comes to family planning, you can say the government should give condoms too,” Bamhrah can be heard saying in the video that has gone viral.

The NCW has sought an explanation from the senior bureaucrat for her “insensitive” conduct.

However, Bamhrah, in her statement, said she “regretted” the exchange and asserted, “It was not meant to berate any of the participants but to encourage girls to become self-dependent.”