Mainstream political parties as well as separatist groups in the Kashmir Valley have demanded action against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over a viral video circulating on social media.
A day after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah demanded an apology from his Bihar counterpart, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti on Friday approached the Kothibagh Police Station in Srinagar to lodge an FIR against Nitish Kumar.
Joined by senior PDP leaders Waheed Parra, Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi (MLA Budgam) and Mohit Bhan, she submitted a complaint against the Bihar Chief Minister over a viral video purportedly showing him pulling down a Muslim woman doctor’s niqab during an official event, which she described as “vulgar and derogatory.”
File picture of PDP leader Iltija Mufti PDP media cell
Separatist leader and chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also joined the issue and condemned what he termed the public violation of a woman’s dignity by the Bihar Chief Minister.
Iltija said she had come to register a formal complaint against Nitish Kumar for his “objectionable and misogynistic behaviour towards women and religious minorities.”
“We have seen what the Bihar Chief Minister has been doing, and now even a BJP minister is making similarly vulgar statements. This cannot go unchecked,” she said, referring to controversial posts and statements circulating on social media around the burqa/niqab episode.
Iltija also criticised what she described as political silence in Jammu and Kashmir when the matter first broke. “When Nitish made those remarks, our Chief Minister Omar Abdullah did not react for two days. And when he finally spoke, it was only to defend Nitish,” she alleged.
Omar Abdullah demands apology from Nitish Kumar
Earlier on Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should apologise to the woman doctor whose veil he allegedly pulled down at a government function, triggering widespread controversy.
The incident reportedly took place on Monday in Patna when AYUSH doctors had gathered at the Secretariat to receive their appointment letters. When the woman doctor stepped forward to collect her letter, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar allegedly noticed her niqab, remarked, “What is this?” and then removed the veil.
Mirwaiz condemns Bihar CM’s act
Addressing the Friday congregation, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq condemned the Bihar Chief Minister’s act of pulling off the veil of a woman doctor, describing it as a grave violation of personal dignity and moral boundaries. He said no position of authority, power or office grants the right to interfere with another person’s self-respect.
The Mirwaiz emphasised that when dignity is violated in public—particularly by someone in authority—it sends a deeply troubling message that power can override ethics and basic human values.
Mirwaiz expressed regret that instead of apologising for his actions, certain political parties and sections of the media were attempting to justify the act by mischaracterising it as an issue of “women’s empowerment,” deliberately dragging the debate into the question of the hijab.
He said such diversions were mischievous and exposed the bigoted mindset of those indulging in them, as well as their limited understanding of Islam.
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