Union minister Giriraj Singh says woman whose hijab was pulled by Nitish Kumar can ‘go to hell’

Amid a row over Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulling down a Muslim woman’s hijab at an event where he was distributing appointment letters to doctors, Union minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday said that it was up to her to refuse the government job or “go to hell”, PTI reported.

The event, during which appointment letters were distributed to newly-recruited AYUSH, or Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy practitioners had taken place at the chief minister’s secretariat in Patna on Monday.

In a video of the incident circulated widely on social media, Kumar is seen pointing towards the woman’s hijab when she came up to collect her letter. The Janata Dal (United) chief is then seen suddenly pulling the garment down.

Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who was standing behind him, appears to intervene and restrain Kumar, while state Health Minister Mangal Pandey and Deepak Kumar, the chief minister’s principal secretary, are seen laughing.

Kumar’s actions led to a controversy, with Opposition parties demanding an apology from the chief minister.

Singh, however, claimed on Thursday that Kumar had done nothing wrong, ANI reported.

“If someone goes to collect their appointment letter, will they not show their face?” the news agency quoted the Union textile minister as telling reporters. “Is this an Islamic nation? Nitish Kumar did this as a guardian.”

He added: “Do you not show your face when you go to the passport office? Do you not show your face when you go to the airport?...This is India and it will be governed by the rule of law.”

Responding to reports that the woman had refused to take up the job after the incident, he said, “Whether she refuses the job or goes to hell, that’s her choice”, PTI reported.

In response to the chief minister’s actions and Singh’s remarks, Congress MP Tariq Anwar said that these were “third-rate people, they have a cheap mindset”, the news agency reported.

“They don’t understand that our country is secular,” PTI quoted the MP from Bihar’s Katihar as saying. “Everyone is free to practice their religion. What Nitish Kumar has done is shameful and saddening.”

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Fauzia Khan also criticised Kumar and Singh, saying that it was “very saddening that responsible people do such acts”.

Khan added that this would send a wrong message to the world.

“It is a personal decision of a woman as to how much she covers up and removing the veil is akin to disrobing a woman,” PTI quoted her as saying. “He [Kumar] should have given a public apology but instead of that they are saying that what happened was right.”

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah claimed that Singh’s statements were exactly what we can expect from the Bharatiya Janata Party, ANI reported.

“If it had been a Hindu woman from Rajasthan or Haryana, wearing a veil, and I had removed it, would the BJP have said the same thing?” the National Conference leader asked. “Imagine the uproar if a Muslim leader had removed the veil of a Hindu woman.”

Abdullah added: “But now, because it was a Muslim woman doctor, the BJP’s reaction is different. What else can we expect from them?”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that first Kumar displayed “utterly indecent, condemnable behaviour” by pulling down a woman’s hijab.

“Now, BJP leader Giriraj Singh abuses the victim and all women,” it said on social media. “Deeply communal and misogynistic – shame on them. We strongly protest and condemn.”

Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti also criticised Singh, saying that “only phenyl will work to clean this man’s filthy mouth”.

“You dare not touch the hijabs & naqabs of our Muslim mothers and sisters,” Mufti said on social media. “Otherwise we Muslim women will set you right by teaching you a lesson you and your ilk will remember for all times to come.”

On Friday, Mufti also filed a complaint at the Kothi Bagh Police Station in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar against the chief minister for “violating the dignity of a Muslim woman by forcibly removing her naqaab”.

“Hope the Jammu and Kashmir Police takes cognisance of this violation,” she said on social media while also sharing a copy of the complaint. “Hands off our hijabs & naqaabs.”

Earlier, Amnesty International had issued a statement against Kumar, describing his actions as an “assault on this woman’s dignity, autonomy, and identity”.

“When a public official forcibly pulls down a woman’s hijab, it sends a message to the public that this behaviour is acceptable,” the human rights organisation said.

“Such actions deepen fear, normalise discrimination and erode the very foundations of equality and freedom of religion. This violation demands unequivocal condemnation and accountability,” it said. “Urgent steps must be taken to ensure that no woman is subjected to such degrading treatment.”

Also read: Pity, contempt and identity: The difference between the hijab and the ghoonghat