Video of Bihar CM pulling down hijab of AYUSH doctor sparks political row
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sparked a row on Monday after he was seen removing the hijab (veil) of a newly recruited AYUSH doctor while distributing appointment letters at Samvad, the Chief Minister’s secretariat.
A purported video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, was shared by the opposition parties, including the RJD and the Congress, who questioned the Chief Minister's mental stability.
The incident, a purported video clip of which has gone viral on social media, happened at ‘Samvad’, the CM’s secretariat, where appointment letters were being given to more than 1,000 AYUSH doctors.
The Opposition parties, including the RJD and the Congress, shared the purported video on their social media accounts and claimed that the incident was the latest proof of the JD(U) president’s “unstable mental health”, news agency PTI reported.
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari told The Indian Express, “Such incidents show that CM Nitish Kumar is not in control. Attempting to remove the hijab of a woman is surely not in good taste. It is a sad reflection of the CM’s conduct.”
Defending the CM, JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, “One should look at the larger picture of what Nitish Kumar has done for women's empowerment and minority welfare. A stray visual image should not be played up unnecessarily by the Opposition.”
According to the CMO, the appointees included 685 Ayurveda doctors, 393 Homeopaths and 205 practitioners of Unani system of medicine. Of them, 10 were handed over job letters by Kumar, while the rest received them online.
When the hijab-clad recruit went to collect her job letter, the 75-year-old CM looked at her and asked, “What is this”? Kumar, who was standing on a raised platform, then bent a little and pulled her hijab down.
The flustered appointee was hastily pulled aside by an official standing near the stage, while Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, who stood beside Kumar, was seen tugging at the latter’s sleeve, in an apparent bid to restrain him, reports PTI.
AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar strongly condemned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after a video surfaced showing him attempting to remove the hijab of a Muslim woman during a ceremony distributing appointment letters to 1,283 AYUSH doctors at the Chief Minister's Office.
Kakkar, in a post on X, said, "If a man in power can remove a woman's veil today, who decides tomorrow that my covered arms offend him? Control never stops at one piece of cloth. Equality means consent. Always."
The Congress party, in an official X post, described the incident as "shameless" and called for Kumar's resignation.
The post read, "This is Bihar's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. A female doctor had come to collect her appointment letter, and Nitish Kumar pulled off her hijab. A man occupying the highest position in Bihar is openly indulging in such a vile act. Think about it--how safe will women be in the state? Nitish Kumar should immediately resign for this disgusting behaviour. This vileness is unforgivable."
Speaking to ANI on Monday, Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat also condemned the act, saying, "I believe that this does not seem appropriate from anywhere. It appears that the Chief Minister is somehow mentally unwell. Such incidents have happened before as well... treating a woman like this is not appropriate; it is condemnable."
Reacting to a video showing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar attempting to remove the hijab of a Muslim woman, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi condemned the act.
She said on X post, "It is her dignity and knowledge of being an equal that makes her stand there with the CM to receive the acknowledgement she deserves. No father figure, CM, PM, brother, or husband should be allowed to publicly humiliate an adult, educated woman for her choice of dressing. So please sit down here", reports ANI.
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