Patna: In a moment that has ignited fierce condemnation across political circles, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was caught on video forcibly removing the hijab of a Muslim woman doctor during a public event, leaving audiences stunned and social media ablaze.
The incident unfolded on Sunday at a programme in Patna, where the Chief Minister was distributing appointment letters to newly-selected AYUSH doctors. As the woman doctor approached the stage to receive her letter, Kumar gestured towards her headscarf, questioned her attire, and abruptly tugged it down, partially unveiling her face. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, seated nearby, made a feeble attempt to intervene, while others on the dais erupted in uneasy laughter.
The footage, swiftly circulating online, has amassed millions of views, amplifying calls for accountability.
This event is not an isolated episode in Kumar’s tenure marked by eyebrow-raising conduct. Recollections flood back to March this year, when he pulled a female beneficiary close during a cheque distribution alongside Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
In May, he infamously placed a potted plant atop an officer’s head, and come November, he draped a garland unexpectedly over a woman worker. Critics also point to his mirthful gestures during the national anthem at a Patna rally in March, which fuel perceptions of erratic behaviour.
Opposition voices have erupted in unison. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lambasted the act on social media, with one post lamenting, “What has befallen Nitish Ji? His mental state seems pitiable, or has he truly turned fully ‘Sanghi’?” Party leader Mrityunjay Tiwari accused Kumar of repeatedly dishonouring women, deeming him unfit to govern Bihar. Congress, equally vehement, decried the “shameless” display, urging immediate resignation: “A woman doctor seeks her due, and the state’s top leader resorts to such vulgarity in plain view. How secure can women feel under this regime?”
As the video’s virality underscores deepening rifts in Bihar’s polity, questions loom over leadership decorum and women’s dignity in public life. The Chief Minister’s office is yet to respond, but the echo of this controversy is certain to reverberate through the state’s corridors of power.