Nitish Kumar hijab row: SP neta files complaint against Bihar CM, UP minister

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party national spokesperson Sumaiya Rana has submitted a complaint at Lucknow's Kaiserbagh police station against Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and UP cabinet minister Sanjay Nishad over the hijab row.

Sumaiya, daughter of late Urdu poet Munawwar Rana, demanded lodging of FIR against Kumar's conduct and Nishad's remarks on it. In the complaint submitted on Tuesday, she demanded legal action against the two leaders to prevent any deterioration of the communal situation.


In her complaint, Rana mentioned a viral video of Bihar CM pulling down the hijab (veil) of a Muslim woman while handing over the appointment letters to AYUSH doctors at an event in Patna on Dec 15.

Rana also objected to Sanjay Nishad's remarks. Quoting him, she said, "He said, why is there so much controversy over removing a burqa?"

Rana stated in her complaint that the incident caused widespread anger within the Muslim community and deeply hurt the dignity and modesty of Muslim women. She claimed that such actions and statements could disturb communal harmony and create an atmosphere of social tension.

DCP, West Zone, Vishwajeet Srivastava confirmed that the complaint was received but added that it was yet to be turned into an FIR.

Rana told TOI that they would wait for 2 to 3 days more and then proceed for further action if the police do not initiate any action on her complaint.

In Oct, Lucknow police booked had Sumaiya Rana for allegedly posting a provocative message on social media related to the "I Love Mohammad" campaign.

BOX 1

My remarks were tweaked and twisted: Nishad

UP minister Sanjay Nishad on Wednesday said his remarks "what would have happened if he (Nitish Kumar) touched her somewhere else" were tweaked and twisted, misinterpreted, its spirit lost in cacophony and translation.

The Nishad Party chief said the comment, made in Hindi, was light-hearted and made casually and added, "There was no ill intent towards any woman from any faith or religion and that he had no objective to insult or humiliate anyone. But if someone has felt hurt then I am taking my words back."

Nishad said he belongs to Gorakhpur and the Bhojpuri-speaking belt and expressions and conversational styles differ from region to region. "In Bhojpuri, this is a common way of urging people not to make too much of any issue and to counsel restraint. I chose to use the same style in Hindi and didn't know it will become such an issue," he said.

"Just as language and expressions vary in Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra or Tamil Nadu, dialects in north India and eastern Uttar Pradesh also differ. That does not mean there was any intention to insult," he said.

Reading out from a written apology, he said that it is unfortunate that some people are trying to blow it up and make it into an agenda. If someone wants to do politics, he can but should not create unnecessary tension in the country or try to break it.

As far as Nitish Kumar Ji is concerned, people know him and his work and that is why supported him again and again and made him the chief minister, said Nishad. His work is there for people to see and it is for the people to decide who they will support in future.

The opposition parties have termed Nishad's remarks as "misogynistic and crass" and demanded an unconditional apology from the minister.

BOX 2

Unbecoming of a CM: RJD; it was fatherly gesture: Bihar govt

The RJD termed the act of Nitish Kumar as "unbecoming of a CM". "The way Nitish behaved in public indicates either he has turned saffron in the company of BJP friends or he is not in good health. In both the cases, his continuance as the CM is not good in the state's interest," state RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said, describing Nitish's act as an insult to the women folk.

Defending Nitish, Bihar's minority welfare minister Zama Khan said the CM pulled down her veil in a fatherly gesture and there was no wrong intention behind his act. "Everyone knows Nitish Kumar. He works for every section of society. The woman doctor is like his daughter. Nitish Kumar behaved like a father or guardian, caressing her affectionately. He was feeling proud that a daughter from the minority community had achieved success under his government," Khan, who is the lone minister from the minority community, told the media.

As regards the threats issued by a Pakistani don who asked the CM tender a public apology, the minister said they don't fear such empty threats. "None can dictate us in Hindustan...We don't fear such people," Khan asserted.

Nitish's ally BJP too came out in strong defence of the CM stating that the latter launched several schemes for women's empowerment during his 20-year-old tenure as the CM and he doesn't need certificates from any quarters. "It was Nitish Kumar who gave respect to women, launched Jeevika, granted 50 per cent reservation to women in Panchayat and local bodies polls and also provided a 35 per cent quota to women in govt jobs to empower this class," state BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma said.