50% of IAS to be women; men should not be without jobs: Maharashtra governor

The Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) chairperson has said that the body would study the statement made by the governor and decide if any action is required

In a statement that is likely to spark controversy, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has said that he predicts that in the next two-three decades, 50% of India’s bureaucrats would be women. He also expressed “concern” that men would be “without jobs” and could get involved in “destructive” activities. The governor was addressing vice-chancellors and senior professors at the convocation ceremony of Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth last week, where he also added that there needs to be a “balance” in the society.

Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, in an address to vice-chancellors and senior professors at the convocation ceremony of Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth last week, said “men must not be left without jobs and get into destructive things”. (HT FILE)

“Earlier, we saw that girls were behind and we had to bring them ahead, so we made efforts. Even today, we say educate the girl [through programmes such as] ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’. In reality, we can see that girls are doing a good job today. It’s my prediction, and I have shared it with many people, that in the next 20-30 years, 50% of IAS [officers] will be women due to their sincerity. It shouldn’t be so that our young boys are without jobs, [they] shouldn’t get into destructive things. A balance must remain [in the society], and we must think on these lines,” the governor said, while addressing the convocation ceremony last week.

The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and Raj Bhavan have been at loggerheads over several issues in the past two years. The ruling MVA is likely to use Koshyari’s statement to trouble him. Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) chairperson Rupali Chakankar said that the body would study the statement made by the governor and decide if any action is required.

Chakankar added that the governor’s statement was “disappointing”. “We in public life try to change the opinion of society on such issues. If such a statement came from the governor, then it’s disappointing. Don’t understand why women are repeatedly regarded as secondary citizens through such statements,” she told a regional news channel.