Bureaucrats around "to pick our slippers", says Uma Bharti in new viral video

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti has sparked a controversy after she stated that officials are around only "to pick up our slippers" and have "no standing (aukat)".

"Bureaucracy is nothing. Bureaucracy is there to pick up chappals (slippers). It picks up our slippers. We only allow that," the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and ex Union Minister bragged at an event. The video of her comment has gone viral on social media.

Uma Bharti made the comments before an OBC (Other Backward Classes) delegation that visited her at her home in Bhopal on Saturday.

The opposition Congress called the comments shameful and demanded a clarification.

"Will Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan clarify whether bureaucrats actually pick up slippers of politicians," Congress leader KK Mishra demanded.

Meanwhile, following a backlash, she apologised for her "intemperate" language. In a series of tweets, she wrote in Hindi: "The day before yesterday at my residence in Bhopal, I met a delegation of backward classes. This meeting was not a formal one. The video of that entire conversation has gone viral in the media. I am thankful to the media that they showed my complete video because I was speaking in defence of bureaucracy."

"I am sorry, I used intemperate language when my expressions were good. I learned this lesson from today that moderate language should be used even in informal conversations between limited people," She added.