‘Aukat kya hain’: BJP’s Uma Bharti says bureaucrats there to pick up slippers
The senior BJP leader later took to Twitter to clarify that she was indeed saying “in support of bureaucracy” and also apologised to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using “immoderate language” though her expression was “good”.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti triggered a controversy on Monday when she said that “bureaucracy is there to pick up politicians’ chappals (slippers).”
Addressing an OBC delegation at her home in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal, Bharti can be heard saying in a video, which has now gone viral on social media, that politicians use bureaucracy for their politics.
Elaborating her point of view on bureaucracy, the senior BJP leader went on to explain why bureaucrats do not control politicians and it’s the other way round. She pointed out that first there are discussions between the bureaucrats and politicians “in private” and then the former prepares a file and processes it.
“It’s utter nonsense that bureaucracy controls the politicians,” she adds, stressing her knowledge of how the process functions based on her experience being the union minister and chief minister for 11 years.
Watch here | 'Pick up our chappal...': Uma Bharti's description of bureaucracy sparks row
“Aukat kya hain? (What is the standing of bureaucrats?) We are giving them a salary, we are giving them postings, we are giving them promotions and demotions. What can they do?” the BJP leader was heard saying in the video, adding that the reality is that politicians use bureaucracy for their politics.
Soon after the video went viral, Bharti took to Twitter to clarify her stand, saying that she is grateful to the media for showing the entire video of the informal conversation that she was a part of because it revealed that she was speaking “in support of bureaucracy.”
“Among us leaders, there are some incompetent ones who are sitting in power and taking the guise of bureaucracy to avoid their inefficiency,” one of her series of tweets read in Hindi, adding that these incompetent leaders claim to be good but blame the bureaucracy for not allowing them to do good work.
Bharti also tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in one of the tweets, apologising for using “immoderate language” albeit her expression was “good.”
