Muslim Woman Doctor Whose Veil Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Pulled Refuses To Join Govt Medical Service

Patna: The Muslim woman doctor whose niqab (veil) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had pulled down while handing over the appointment letter, leading to much brouhaha, refused to join the service on Wednesday, asserting that what she endured was akin to an insult.

On the other hand, a Pakistan-based gangster, Shahzad Bhatti, has threatened Nitish with dire consequences if he did not apologise to the concerned lady doctor.

Nitish had pulled down the niqab of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) doctor Nusrat Parween, asking what it was, while she had marched up to the dais to receive her job letter from him.
The incident had occurred at a function held at the ‘Samvad’ hall at the Chief Minister’s secretariat on Monday, where the government distributed appointment letters to 1283 doctors, who would work in mobile medical units under the National Child Health Programme, OPD (outpatient department) at various health institutions, as also in various National Health Mission programmes.

Soon after the episode, Nusrat opted not to join the medical service and left for Kolkata on Tuesday to stay with her elder brother, as the incident kept the Opposition political circles on a boil and also raised questions on Nitish’s conduct and health.

“She is determined not to join the service. However, all family members, including me, are trying to convince her otherwise. We are telling her that it is the fault of the other person, so why should she feel bad or suffer because of it?” Parveen’s brother, who is a professor at a government law university in Kolkata, told reporters.
Nusrat was supposed to join the medical service on December 20. Her husband is a clinical psychologist at a college and did not wish his identity to be revealed in the media.

“I am not saying that the chief minister did it intentionally, but I did not like whatever happened there. So many people were present there. Some were laughing. Being a girl, it was like an insult to me,” Nusrat confided. Her family is still trying to make her reconsider the decision.

Nitish has been receiving brickbats from various Opposition parties and different sections of society. The Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (JKPDP) have been at the forefront in slamming the Bihar chief minister.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah slammed his Bihar counterpart and said that he might be revealing his true colours. “Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours. Removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means,” Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function on Wednesday.

We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act of Nitish is also wrong,” Abdullah added.

Samajwadi Party leader Samaiya Rana has lodged a complaint against Nitish and Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad at the Kaiserbagh police station in Lucknow, seeking an FIR and strict legal action against them.

“A video of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is doing the rounds on social media in which he is seen pulling down a woman’s hijab. If a person holding a constitutional post behaves in this manner, it means he is encouraging others to engage in similar acts,” Rana told reporters.

Sources close to Nitish said that he displayed symptoms of dementia (Alzheimer’s disease), though there has been no official medical bulletin or statement by the government on this.

Pakistani gangster issues threats

Pakistan-based underworld don Shahzad Bhatti, in a video message circulated on social media, warned Nitish of dire consequences if he did not apologise to Nusrat over his conduct. He also questioned how a person “at the helm of affairs” could behave in such a manner.

“He (Nitish) should immediately apologise for his action,” Shahzad said in the video message, and added that he should not be blamed if anything “untoward” happened to the offender.

Shahzad is a native of the Punjab province in Pakistan and has been involved in anti-India rhetoric for a long time. He also has links with various terror organisations operating from the neighbouring country.

However, senior Bihar Police officials were tight-lipped over the issue. Additional Director General (ADG) (Headquarters) Kundan Krishnan, who is also the spokesperson of the force, refused to take the calls from ETV Bharat. (With agency inputs)