The incident took place during the appointment letter distribution ceremony for 1,283 newly recruited AYUSH doctors, including 685 Ayurvedic, 393 Homoeopathic and 205 Unani practitioners.

During the event, Nitish Kumar handed an appointment letter to Dr Nusrat Parveen, who was wearing a hijab. After giving her the letter, he reportedly noticed the hijab and asked, “What is this?” When Dr Nusrat replied that it was a hijab, the Chief Minister told her to remove it.

He then removed the hijab himself in full public view. Dr Nusrat was hastily pulled aside by an official present at the venue, while Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary, who was standing beside Nitish Kumar, was seen tugging at the latter’s sleeve in an apparent attempt to restrain him.

Meanwhile, RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed alleged that Nitish Kumar insulted women by removing a Muslim woman’s hijab while distributing appointment letters to doctors at a function in Patna.

“This clearly reveals the NDA government’s mindset towards the Muslim community. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has become engrossed in politics aimed at pleasing the BJP and RSS,” he claimed.

“When a person holding the position of chief minister commits such an act, it appears that the government in Bihar is now completely implementing the ideology of the RSS. Nitish should apologise for this act, as he has insulted the entire women’s community,” the RJD leader alleged.

This is not the first time Nitish Kumar has drawn flak for his actions in full public view. Ahead of the Assembly elections, he had sparked a controversy after he began clapping while the national anthem was being played at a function held at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna.

That action had drawn sharp criticism from Opposition leaders, who demanded a medical check-up of the Chief Minister by a medical board. The JD(U), however, dismissed the Opposition’s demand and maintained that the Chief Minister was performing his duties as usual.