The Kaiserbagh police station in Lucknow registered an FIR against Bihar’s chief minister Nitish Kumar and cabinet minister Sanjay Nishad. The FIR was filed after Kumar’s hijab row sparked a massive debate among party lines and leaders.
Sumaiya Rana, the Samajwadi Party leader, filed the FIR and asked the authorities to take strict action over the Chief Minister’s action. In a video surfacing over social media, Kumar is seen removing a hijab from a Muslim woman’s head during an official event for distributing Certificates to newly appointed AYUSH doctors. The event took place at the CM’s official residence. Political Leaders waited no longer as the video surfaced, calling it extremely inappropriate and humiliating.
As the woman went ahead to take her appointment letter, the Leader pointed at her hijab and asked her to remove it, but before she could take any action or say something, he went ahead to remove her Hijab himself. The event was surprising, and it was visible from the woman’s face, who seemed upset for moments after the incident. While the crowd was seen laughing at the gesture.
Speaking to the ANI, Sumaiya said that the action has set a wrong precedent. A constitutional head acting in this way sets a wrong precedent for others and encourages this. She also commented on statements by Nishad over the incident. Sanjay Nishad justified his actions, saying that he only touched “her face”. Rana said that the statements were even more problematic as he was justifying humiliation.
Misham Zaidi, the advocate who accompanied Rana, said that the incident and the remarks were a subsequent breach of a woman’s modesty and called for investigations under penal provisions. He further said that it calls for action under Section 354.
As per the visuals of the video, the sensitivity of the matter is clearly visible, and it appears as if the Leader stepped into the personal space of the women.
