Bureaucrats will stoop to any level to seek favours from their political masters. This could be seen once again in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra town when a senior administrative official publicly touched the feet of a senior Samajwadi Party leader.

The magistrate-level official Atul Kumar was caught on camera touching the feet of SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav in Agra on Sunday.

Yadav was in the town to attend a private function. A few government officials including Kumar had also reached there on getting the information of his visit.

Just as Yadav was about to get into his vehicle, Kumar rushed towards him and touched his feet.

Kumar is not the only official who has lowered the dignity of his profession by touching the feet of his political master.

A few months ago, police chief of UP’s Etah district Ajai Mohan Sharma had touched the feet of SP general secretary Ram Asrey Kushwaha.

Kushwaha had defended the cop’s act.

“Sometimes officials have personal relations with leaders. Under such circumstances, they may touch the leader’s feet. What is wrong with that?” Kushwaha had said.

“This is Indian culture. Paying respect is a part of it. Such things should not be blown out of proportion,” he had added.

When the Bahujan Samaj Party was in power, the SP had raised a hue and cry when a senior police official deployed in the chief minister Mayawati’s security wing, had wiped out dust from her sandal after she alighted from a chopper in UP’s Aurayia district.

State Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak had said the official must be punished.