The political atmosphere in Bihar heated up on Tuesday as the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party launched a sharp counterattack against the Congress. This came after the Congress demanded Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's resignation over an incident where he pulled down a newly recruited doctor's hijab during a public event.
The Core Controversy and Congress's Attack
The controversy stems from an event on Monday, where appointment letters were being distributed to over 1,000 AYUSH doctors. A video that went viral on social media shows 75-year-old Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reacting as appointee Nusrat Parveen approached the dais wearing a hijab that covered her face. Kumar is heard exclaiming "what is this?" before pulling the veil down. An official then quickly moved the visibly flustered doctor aside, while Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary was seen tugging at Kumar's sleeve, apparently in an attempt to restrain him.
The Congress, sharing the video from the chief minister's secretariat, Samvad, described Kumar's behaviour as "shameful." The party questioned the safety of women in Bihar and demanded the chief minister's immediate resignation. The Rashtriya Janata Dal also joined in, terming the incident "deeply disturbing" and some leaders even questioning Kumar's mental fitness.
BJP's Retort: Accusations of Hypocrisy and Selective Outrage
The Bihar BJP hit back strongly, accusing the Congress of "hypocrisy" and "selective outrage" on issues of women's dignity. In posts on social media platform X, the BJP advised the Congress to "look at its own history before lecturing others on respect for women." The party remarked that the Congress was afflicted by a politics of "remove the ghunghat and make them wear the burqa."
As part of its counterattack, the BJP shared a 2023 video from former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's tenure. The clip, shot during Gehlot's visit to a relief camp in Banswara, shows him personally removing a veil from a woman's head. The BJP pointedly questioned why the Congress had remained silent on that episode and why similar outrage was not expressed then.
Event Details and Political Fallout
According to the Chief Minister's Office, the event saw appointment letters handed over to 685 Ayurveda doctors, 393 homeopaths, and 205 Unani practitioners. Only 10 doctors received letters directly from the CM, with the rest being appointed online.
The incident has sparked a major political row in the state, with the BJP firmly defending its ally and chief minister. The party's strategy has been to turn the tables on the Congress by highlighting past actions of its own leaders, attempting to frame the criticism as politically motivated and inconsistent. The exchange underscores the heightened political tensions and the weaponisation of perceived slights against women's dignity for political point-scoring.
