"What's Wrong With It": Union Minister Jumps To Nitish Kumar's Defence

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, facing massive criticism after he was seen pulling down the hijab of a woman and exposing her face at a public event, has found another champion -- the BJP's Union minister Giriraj Singh. 

"What's wrong with what he did?" Singh shot back at reporters today when asked about the matter. "If one has come to take an appointment letter, why should she be scared of showing her face? Don't you have to show your face when you go to vote?" he added.

At an event to distribute appointment letters to over 1,200 AYUSH doctors on Tuesday, Kumar was initially seen speaking to the doctor who had a veil on. Then he was seen pulling down the veil, as Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary tried to stop him.

As criticism was heaped on him by the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, the Janata Dal United struggled to explain the situation.

Kumar's party colleague and the Minority Welfare Minister Zama Khan said, "Nitish ji just showed love to a Muslim daughter. He wanted society to see the face of the girl after she became successful in life". 

Accusing the Opposition and Muslim leaders of trying to defame the Chief Minister, he said those criticising him must know that he has given the country's daughters the utmost respect. 

Next, NDA ally Nishad party leader and Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad piled on the outrage with his crass comment defending Kumar.

Speaking to a local news channel, Nishad questioned what would have happened if Kumar had "touched somewhere else".

"Arey, woh bhi toh aadmi hain na, peeche nahi padna chahiye. Naqab chhoo diya toh itna ho gaya...kahin aur chhoo dete toh kya ho jaata (He is a man being after all. One should not hound him like this. If touching the 'hijab' caused such an uproar, what would have happened if he had touched elsewhere)," he had told Bharat Samachar.

The RJD and the Congress have questioned the mental health of the 74-year-old Chief Minister.

"What has happened to Nitish ji? His mental state has now reached a completely pitiable condition," read a rough translation of a Hindi post by the Congress on X, formerly Twitter. 

"By removing the hijab from the face of a Muslim woman who observes purdah, he (Kumar) has made it clear what kind of politics the JDU and BJP are engaging in in the name of women's empowerment," said RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad.