Mayawati: Bihar ‘naqab’ dispute is brought up by who says CM Nitish should apologize and put a stop to the dispute
Mayawati: Concerned by the Bihar chief minister’s recent removal of a woman doctor’s veil, BSP supremo Mayawati said on Saturday that the JD-U top should apologize and try to put an end to the “bitterly growing controversy” around Nitish Kumar’s “naqab.”
Concerns over a contentious police parade event in Bahraich were also raised by the previous chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, who called the state’s and Parliament’s legislative sessions a failure.
Mayawati described the ‘naqqab’ situation as “sad and unfortunate” in a lengthy Hindi post on X. The matter escalated further because of remarks made by ministers later on.
The event happened on Monday at the chief minister’s office in Patna, when Ayush physicians came to collect their letters of appointment. A video clip of the incident has gone viral.
The opposition parties demanded that the chief minister provide an unqualified apology when Kumar noticed the woman’s “naqab” as she came up for her letter, asked, “What is this?” and then pulled off the veil.
According to Mayawati, the chief minister should have directly intervened to settle the issue, which is related to the safety and dignity of women.
“It would be better if the chief minister views the incident in the right perspective, expresses regret and makes an effort to end this bitterly growing controversy,” she said.
Mayawati, referring to Uttar Pradesh, said that the Bahraich district police caused a significant scandal and placed the state administration “in the dock” when they were criticized for breaking the laws by saluting a religious speaker during a police parade.
The state police chief’s request for an explanation from the district police chief was a great move, she said. “Police parades and salutes have their own traditions, discipline and sanctity, which should not be tampered with,” she said.
She stated, “People are now waiting for action,” and urged the state government to act quickly to avoid a repetition.
Mayawati also criticized the Uttar Pradesh Assembly’s “brief” Winter Session, which started on December 19. He said that, similar to other sessions, it was “confined to debates between the ruling party and the opposition” rather than concentrating on matters of welfare and public interest.
According to her, the government ought to have taken issues like farmers’ shortages of fertilizer and other public welfare issues more seriously.
The head of the BSP also attacked the Winter Session of Parliament, which ended on Friday, saying that no substantive talks on urgent national concerns, including as Delhi’s extreme air pollution, were held during the session.
“The entire country was hoping for deliberations on the burning national problems that could have offered some ray of hope but that did not happen, which is unfortunate,” she said.
Mayawati also voiced alarm over Bangladesh’s fast worsening condition and what she described as an increase in “anti-India activities” akin to those in Nepal.
She called on the Center to acknowledge the changes and adopt a long-term policy response.
Following the murder of Sharif Osman Hadi, a well-known young leader of the July Uprising of 2024, which sparked violent riots and burning in the neighboring nation, Bangladesh has been in the news this week.