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ISLAMABAD: India&rsquo;s Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is facing backlash after a video went viral showing him pulling down a Muslim woman&rsquo;s hijab (veil) at a government function in Bihar on Monday.&nbsp;The incident occurred at the Bihar Chief Minister&rsquo;s secretariat, known as Samvad, during a ceremony attended by newly appointed doctors.&nbsp;Among the 1,283 appointees were 685 Ayurvedic practitioners, 393 homeopathic doctors, and 205 Unani medicine specialists, Indian media reported.&nbsp;While most appointment letters were issued online, ten individuals, including Nusrat Parveen, received their letters directly from the Chief Minister, according to Indian media.&nbsp;As Nusrat Parveen approached the stage to receive her appointment letter, the Chief Minister appeared taken aback by her hijab, which partially covered her face.&nbsp;Indian media reports said he exclaimed, &ldquo;What is this?&rdquo; before reaching out and pulling the hijab aside.&nbsp;The video quickly went viral, triggering a wave of reactions on social media.&nbsp;The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) strongly criticized the chief minister, questioning his mental health and describing his condition as &ldquo;pitiable.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;What has happened to Nitish ji? Has his mental state reached a completely pitiable condition, or has Nitish Babu become 100 per cent Sanghi now?&rdquo; the party said in a post.&nbsp;&ldquo;The removal of the hijab from a Muslim woman&rsquo;s face clearly reflects the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government&rsquo;s attitude toward the Muslim community,&rdquo; Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed said on X.&nbsp;Public reactionFollowing the incident, a strong backlash erupted on social media, with users condemning the chief minister and accusing him of harboring hatred toward India&rsquo;s Muslim community.&nbsp;Ashok Swain, an academic and professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s administration, calling the incident an example of misogyny and Islamophobia.&nbsp;&ldquo;Modi&rsquo;s key ally and Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, forcibly pulls down the veil of a Muslim lady doctor while giving her an appointment letter. In Modi&rsquo;s India, misogyny and Islamophobia have official sanction!&rdquo; he wrote on X.&nbsp;Samajwadi Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Ravidas Mehrotra, speaking to the media, said the incident showed that the Bihar Chief Minister was not mentally stable.&nbsp;&ldquo;This incident clearly shows that the Chief Minister of Bihar is not mentally stable. After this incident, he has no moral right to remain in the post of Chief Minister even for a single day,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi also raised the issue on X, describing the incident as &ldquo;indefensible and deeply disturbing.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;He owes the woman and the public an unconditional apology. This erratic conduct is alarming and points to a man who no longer possesses the composure or mental clarity required for constitutional office. Seeking medical attention and stepping aside is necessary,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;India&rsquo;s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), also condemned the incident on its official X account, questioning the safety of women in Bihar and calling on the Chief Minister to resign.&nbsp;&ldquo;Look at his shamelessness&mdash;a female doctor had come to collect her appointment letter, and Nitish Kumar pulled off her hijab,&rdquo; the party said.&nbsp;&ldquo;Nitish Kumar should immediately resign for this disgusting behaviour. This vileness is unforgivable,&rdquo; it added.

India

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar faces widespread backlash after a video showed him pulling down a Muslim woman’s hijab at a government ceremony, triggering political outrage and social media condemnation

Indian chief minister faces backlash over removing Muslim woman’s veil

ISLAMABAD: Bihar&rsquo;s chief minister Nitish Kumar&rsquo;s pre-poll INR140 billion women&rsquo;s welfare payout has triggered an Indian Opposition uproar after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept to victory in Bihar, according to an Indian media report. The alliance -- which is led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s Bharatiya Janata Party -- in Bihar registered a clear victory on Friday (Nov. 14), with chief minister Kumar set for a fifth consecutive term, as the coalition won 202 of the 243 seats in the state. The large-scale direct benefit scheme, dubbed the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana (MMRY), credited INR10,000 each to over 10 million women just days before the Election Commission of India announced the polling dates for the 243-member assembly.&nbsp; At least INR140 billion was disbursed, according to the media report. The Indian Opposition&rsquo;s anger has only grown since Friday.&nbsp; Last-minute welfare push&nbsp;Opposition leaders say Nitish Kumar&rsquo;s last-minute welfare push shaped voter behavior. Senior Indian journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has called it &ldquo;vote khareedi&rdquo; elections or &ldquo;vote buying&rdquo; elections in a vlog on his official YouTube channel. &ldquo;Why do you need to steal votes when you can buy them?&rdquo; Sardesai said. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar, a veteran from the INDIA bloc&#39;s side of the political spectrum, said on Saturday that the scheme &ldquo;generated a favorable effect for NDA&quot;, citing a similar pattern during the Maharashtra elections, according to the report.&nbsp; Higher women&rsquo;s voter turnout&nbsp;According to poll panel data, women&rsquo;s turnout in Bihar was 72%, significantly higher than men&rsquo;s 63%, which is being seen as a major factor boosting Nitish Kumar&#39;s pro-women image in general, the report states. Scheme timing and money transfer&nbsp;The Bihar cabinet cleared the MMRY scheme on Aug. 29.&nbsp; Under the scheme, 14.1 million women received INR10,000 each before polling. Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launched MMRY on Sept. 26.&nbsp; Opposition smells a rat&nbsp;On Oct. 6, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the election schedule, which prompted the Opposition to become suspicious soon after. Opposition parties allege that one instalment of the payout was released on the very day elections were announced, and note that state-funded advertisements in October highlighted upcoming payment dates of November. Reflecting on the results, Mukesh Sahani of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) from the Mahagathbandhan, whose party drew a blank, argued that &ldquo;our mothers and sisters who live in poverty felt that the money would change their lives.&quot; &ldquo;Naturally, they voted for that promise,&rdquo; he said, calling the scheme &ldquo;a clear case of the government using state money as a campaign lever.&rdquo; &lsquo;Breach of code&rsquo;The poll code of conduct bars governments from announcing new financial grants or using public funds in ways that may influence voters from the moment elections are declared. The guidelines state that the party in power &ldquo;shall not use its official position for the purposes of its election campaign&rdquo; and that it cannot issue new financial promises or disbursements once the code is active. Opposition parties argue that continuing MMRY payments after Oct. 6 constituted a breach of the code. &lsquo;Mute spectator&rsquo;&nbsp;Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar asked why the ECI allowed distribution of scheme funds &ldquo;during Bihar polls.&rdquo; The ECI has not issued any formal clarification on the matter so far.&nbsp; Officials have maintained informally that schemes approved and notified before the MCC cannot be halted unless a new benefit is announced or expanded, a distinction the commission has made in other states, according to the Indian media report. But this has not been the case with the poll body always; it has strictly intervened in the past.&nbsp; According to the report, the ECI stopped the Andhra Pradesh government from disbursing INR141.65 billion under six direct benefit transfer schemes days before voting. The commission held that although funds were released earlier, the timing of the transfer, May 10 and 11, just before polling, could influence voters. The report said that in Tamil Nadu, the poll authorities have twice in the past two decades taken strong action against ongoing welfare schemes. The schemes were already under implementation before the election schedule was announced, the report said. According to another Indian media report, Congress&#39;s Ashok Gehlot blamed the Election Commission for being a &quot;mook darshak&quot; (mute spectator) as money was distributed during the polls, suggesting it was a form of &quot;vote chori&quot; (vote theft).

Asia

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s pre-poll INR140 billion women’s welfare payout sparked Opposition outrage, with critics alleging 'vote buying;' NDA’s landslide win followed, fueled by high female turnout, while the Election Commission remains allegedly ‘mute’ over the matter.

Articles tagged with "Nitish Kumar"

Indian chief minister faces backlash over removing Muslim woman’s veil

India's Bihar pre-poll ₹140B women’s payout sparks outrage