A political storm has erupted after a video clip surfaced Monday purportedly showing Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar pulling down the hijab of a newly recruited woman doctor during a government function in Patna.

The alleged incident occurred at Samvad, the chief minister’s secretariat, where appointment letters were distributed to more than 1,200 AYUSH doctors.

A short video of the episode has been widely circulated on social media. Although The Telegraph Online could not independently verify its authenticity, that the ruling JDU has not denied the incident lends it some credence.

According to officials, the event was organised to hand over appointment letters to 1,283 doctors appointed under the AYUSH system.

The appointees included 685 Ayurveda practitioners, 393 homeopaths and 205 doctors from the Unani system of medicine. While most received their appointment letters online, 10 candidates were handed the letters personally by the chief minister.

The controversy erupted when one of the appointees, approached the dais wearing a hijab covering her face.

The 75-year-old chief minister was seen frowning and asking, “What is this?”, before bending forward from the raised platform and pulling down her veil. The visibly flustered doctor was quickly moved aside by an official present at the venue.

Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary, who was standing beside Kumar, appeared to tug at the chief minister’s sleeve in what seemed to be an attempt to restrain him.

Some people in the background could be heard laughing in the video.

Opposition parties were quick to seize on the footage. The RJD and Congress shared the clip on their social media handles, launching sharp attacks on the chief minister.

The RJD questioned Kumar’s conduct and mental state, asking whether the chief minister’s behaviour reflected a deeper problem or a deliberate political signal.

The party said the incident showed a “disturbing mindset” and accused the ruling JDU-BJP alliance of disrespecting women and minorities.

The Congress, which also shared the video clip, described the act as “shameless” and “unforgivable”, and demanded Kumar’s immediate resignation.

Congress' post on X

The opposition party said a chief minister who could publicly pull down a woman’s veil had no moral authority to speak on women’s safety, adding that the incident raised serious questions about how secure women were in Bihar under his leadership.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi termed the incident “public harassment”, saying forcefully pulling down a woman’s veil in public was “absolutely condemnable”.

The AIMIM also condemned the act, calling it intolerable and demanding an immediate apology from the chief minister. The party said such behaviour from the state’s top constitutional authority raised serious questions about the dignity and security of women.

Amid the backlash, Bihar minority welfare minister Zama Khan came out in defence of the chief minister. She said that Kumar respected women and had acted out of affection, per NDTV.

He claimed the chief minister wanted the world to see the face of a “successful daughter” and accused the Opposition of trying to defame Kumar.

RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad countered the defence, saying the incident reflected the attitude of the JDU-BJP alliance towards women and minorities.

Pulling down the veil of a woman who observes purdah, he said, amounted to violating her cultural and religious rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

(With inputs from PTI)