New Delhi: Tripura CM Biplab Deb is back with another bizarre comment. Days after courting a major controversy over his remarks against Diana Hayden, Deb said on Saturday civil engineers would be better suited for civil services over mechanical engineers.
This is the third consecutive statement of Deb that has failed to impress his critics. After his ‘Internet in the Mahabharata era’ remark, his latest offering is about the civil engineers. He said, “Civil engineers should join civil services as they have the prior experience to build the society.”
According to the local media, Deb was attending an event in Agartala to mark the Civil Service Day when he said, “If a civil engineer becomes an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, he can give inputs in construction projects, which mechanical engineers cannot.”
He didn’t stop at that and added, “One should not opt for civil services after studying mechanical engineering. Civil engineers have the experience and knowledge to help build administration and society. Civil engineering gives that kind of knowledge.”
Earlier, arts graduates use to appear for the civil services examination and now, medical and engineering graduates are also joining the services, he said.
Deb said civil service officers should be all-rounders as “people who are expert in all disciplines have the highest demand”.
To drive his point home, he cited the examples of Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev.
“People take names of special players such as Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. Dev’s bowling was good, but batting was also excellent. This is the age of speciality. All-rounders are accorded highest priority,” Deb said.
He also touched upon the medical profession and said, “Doctors also have an added benefit of utilizing their skills in a civil service post.” According to Tripura Infoway, he said, “If someone is a doctor, then the knowledge can be immediately applied to treat the sick.”
Two days ago, Deb grabbed the headlines for questioning Diana Hayden’s Miss World title won 20 years ago and compared her with Aishwarya Rai. He had said, “Indian beauty should ideally look like Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati. Diana Hayden did not deserve to win the Miss World crown. Actually, it was part of a fixed plan, which was hatched keeping in mind the interests of the international market. Aishwarya Rai’s victory was well deserved as she represents the quintessential Indian woman.” He later apologised for his remarks.
This came soon after his ‘Internet’ comment in which Deb claimed that the Internet technology is nothing new to India as something on similar lines existed even in the Mahabharata era when Sanjaya would share updates about the Kurukshetra battle with Dhritarashtra.