Patna: The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has called on Bihar’s chief minister, Nitish Kumar, to resign after a video circulated online appeared to show him pulling down a Muslim woman’s veil during a public event.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Mufti said she was “shocked” by the incident, questioning whether CM Nitish’s actions reflected “senility or an attempt to normalise publicly humiliating Muslims”. She added that those standing beside him were seen laughing, which she described as “even more disturbing”. “Nitish Sahib, perhaps it’s time for you to step down,” she wrote.
Having personally known & admired Nitish ji I was shocked to see him pull down a young Muslim woman’s naqaab. Does one attribute it to old age or the normalisation of humiliating Muslims publicly. The fact that people around him watched this horrific incident unfold as some form… pic.twitter.com/1nXl1Xzg1l
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) December 16, 2025
The incident is said to have taken place at the chief minister’s secretariat, Samvad, during a programme to distribute appointment letters to more than 1,000 AYUSH doctors. News outlets have carried the footage, though its authenticity has not been independently verified.
According to PTI, when one of the appointees, identified as Nusrat Parveen, approached the dais wearing a hijab, the 75-year-old chief minister appeared displeased and remarked, “What is this?” before removing the veil from her face. The visibly unsettled doctor was then ushered aside by an official. Deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary, who was standing nearby, was seen attempting to restrain Kumar by tugging at his sleeve.
The episode has prompted sharp criticism from opposition parties in Bihar. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress shared the video on social media, describing it as evidence of what they alleged to be Kumar’s “unstable mental state”. In a post, the RJD asked: “What has happened to Nitish Ji?” adding that the incident raised questions about whether the Janata Dal (United) leader’s judgement had deteriorated.
CM Nitish and his party have not issued an official response to the controversy at the time of publication.
