The ceremony was intended to highlight the NDA government’s commitment to strengthening the healthcare system in the state, expanding medical education, and ensuring the delivery of quality healthcare services.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday distributed appointment letters to 1,283 AYUSH doctors at a function held in Patna. Of the total appointees, 685 are Ayurvedic practitioners, 393 Homeopathic, and 205 Unani doctors.
The ceremony was intended to highlight the NDA government’s commitment to strengthening the healthcare system in the state, expanding medical education, and ensuring the delivery of quality healthcare services. However, the event soon drew controversy after the Chief Minister pulled down the hijab of a woman doctor who had come wearing it to receive her appointment letter.
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In a video that has since surfaced, the woman doctor is seen approaching the stage to receive her appointment letter. After handing over the letter, the Chief Minister, smiling, asks, “What is this?”
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The doctor responds, “Sir, it is a hijab.” Before she could finish her reply, the Chief Minister was seen pulling it down.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary is visible in the video attempting to stop the Chief Minister, but by then the incident had already occurred.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) shared a video clip of the incident on its official social media page, accompanied by the caption, “What has happened to Nitish ji? Has his mental condition deteriorated completely, or has Nitish Babu now become 100% Sanghi?”
Reacting to the incident, Bihar RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed said that removing the hijab from the face of a Muslim woman while handing over an appointment letter amounted to an insult to women.
He alleged that the NDA government’s attitude towards the Muslim community had become evident and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of engaging in politics to please the BJP and the RSS.
“The Constitution of India grants people of all religions the freedom to follow their own religious traditions and practices. When a person holding the office of Chief Minister forcibly commits such an act, it appears that Bihar is now being run entirely on the ideology of the Sangh,” Ahmed said.
He demanded that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar issue an apology, stating that the act amounted to an insult to women as a whole.
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