The Madhya Pradesh Government has slapped a show-cause notice on Senior IAS Officer Santosh Verma (2012 batch) after his explosive remark at the AJAKS (SC/ST employees’ association) State Convention in Bhopal on November 23 triggered statewide outrage. Verma, who was elected provincial president of the association that day, reportedly declared, “Reservation should be given to only one person in a family until a Brahmin donates his daughter to my son or has a relationship with her.”
The General Administration Department issued the notice late Wednesday night, describing the statement as “indiscipline, arbitrariness, and serious misconduct” that violates the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968. Verma has been given seven days to explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated; failure to respond will lead to unilateral proceedings.
The viral video sparked immediate protests across the state, with the Mantralaya Officers-Employees Union submitting a memorandum to Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla demanding strict punishment. Senior BJP leader and former minister Gopal Bhargava called Verma “characterless” and “mentally ill,” vowing to meet Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to push for revocation of his IAS status. Congress MLA Hemant Katare demanded an FIR and immediate dismissal, accusing the officer of trying to “divide society.”
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Facing the backlash, Verma issued an apology on Wednesday, claiming his 27-minute speech was selectively clipped and distorted. “A two-second portion is being circulated to defame me,” he told reporters.
This is not Verma’s first brush with controversy. Currently posted as Deputy Secretary in the Agriculture Department, the officer was arrested in 2019 for allegedly forging a judge’s signature and court orders in Indore to secure relief in criminal cases against him. He has also faced two separate complaints from women accusing him of promising marriage and later exploiting them.
The incident has reignited caste tensions in the state and put the BJP government in a tight spot, with pressure mounting from both Brahmin organizations and opposition parties for exemplary action against the senior bureaucrat.
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