IAS Officer's "Until A Brahmin Donates His Daughter" Remark Sparks Row

The newly elected provincial president of the AJAKS, the association of the employees belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) category in Madhya Pradesh, Senior IAS officer Santosh Verma, has once again found himself at the centre of a controversy after a video of a remark made by him at the organisation's convention on Sunday surfaced online.

"Until a Brahmin donates his daughter to my son or has a relationship with him, reservations should continue," Verma said at an event held at Bhopal's Ambedkar Maidan. 

As the video spread across social media, Brahmin organisations strongly condemned Verma's statement, calling it "indecent, casteist, and deeply insulting to Brahmin daughters." 

"An FIR should be lodged immediately for comments made against Brahmin daughters. The IAS officer's remarks are indecent, objectionable, and an insult to the Brahmin community. If a criminal case is not filed soon, the Brahmin Samaj will launch a statewide protest," the state president of All India Brahmin Samaj, Pushpendra Mishra, said. 

Mishra emphasised that the comments violate All India Services Conduct Rules, especially at a time when the government is actively promoting schemes such as Ladli Laxmi, Ladli Behna, and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, all aimed at protecting the dignity and welfare of girls and women.

This is not the first time Santosh Verma has been embroiled in controversy. His chequered past has resurfaced following the latest incident.

Verma, originally an officer of the Madhya Pradesh State Administrative Service, had previously hit headlines for allegedly forging court orders and faking signatures of a CBI judge to falsely claim relief in cases filed against him.

In Indore, he was arrested after a judge filed a complaint accusing him of forging two court orders related to a case of alleged criminal intimidation of a woman. 

Verma allegedly used these forged documents to secure his promotion from the state cadre to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

He has also faced accusations in two exploitation cases, in which women alleged he promised marriage and later intimidated or deceived them.