Rajasthan IAS officer's bribery comments stoke controversy

A senior IAS officer's comments over his fellow officer having to bribe an official to get his work done in a government office has stoked a controversy in Rajasthan with the Congress using it to criticise the BJP government.
K K Pathak, secretary (redressal of public grievances) to the chief minister, had said at a function on Civil Services Day yesterday that his friend had to pay bribe to an official for work related to land conversion.
Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot of Congress termed the IAS officer's statement as a reflection of the corrupt face of the BJP government in the state.

But BJP state chief Ashok Parnami raised questions over the comments.
"Why did the officer not inform this to the government? He should have raised this matter during official meetings," Parnami said, adding the government will look into it.
"The comment shows the real face of the government. Corruption is now rampant in the bureaucracy. The Chief Minister herself does not meet people. Ministers conduct public hearings in the party office where common man does not go," Gehlot said in a statement.

Gehlot alleged the bureaucracy is working under pressure and several ruling party MLAs have openly expressed their anguish over officials not doing their bidding.

He alleged that several officials were trying to implicate Congress leaders in false cases under pressure from the Chief Minister's Office and said all such officials would not be spared if the Congress comes back to power.
The officer Pathak told PTI that he gave an example to show that even an IAS officer gets victimised by the system.
"My officer friend had to give bribe for his work. This shows that even officers have to suffer," he said.