Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah lashed out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after a video surfaced showing Kumar pulling down the niqab of a Muslim woman doctor during an official event in Bihar where appointment letters were being distributed to AYUSH doctors.

Calling the act “absolutely wrong”, Abdullah said there was no justification for humiliating a woman in public. “Nowhere is it allowed to pull down the veil of a Muslim woman. If the chief minister did not want to give her the order himself, he could have skipped her. Humiliating her in front of everybody is absolutely wrong,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar.

He said the incident exposed what he described as Nitish Kumar’s “real face”, adding that the Bihar chief minister had earlier been viewed as a secular and intelligent leader. “Slowly the reality of Nitish Kumar is coming to the fore,” Abdullah said.

Referring to a past controversy, Abdullah compared the incident to an alleged episode involving Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who was accused of asking a woman to remove her burkha during elections years ago. “As that was unfortunate then, this is unfortunate today as well,” he said.

The incident triggered widespread outrage after the video went viral on social media. Several political parties, religious leaders and youth organisations in Jammu and Kashmir condemned Kumar’s action and demanded an apology.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti urged Nitish Kumar to step down, calling the incident a serious violation of dignity and religious freedom. Senior CPI(M) leader and Kulgam MLA M Y Tarigami termed the act a breach of personal dignity and religious rights.

Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference leader and president of the All Jammu and Kashmir Shia Association, Molvi Imran Ansari, wrote to the Bihar chief minister seeking an apology and expressing concern, noting that Muslims constitute nearly 17 per cent of Bihar’s population.

Awami Ittehad Party chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi described Kumar’s behaviour as “disgraceful, arrogant and shockingly shameless”, accusing him of humiliating a young doctor and disgracing the constitutional office he holds. Former Bollywood actress Zaira Wasim also sought an apology from Nitish Kumar over the incident.

Nitish Kumar has not issued a detailed public response to the controversy so far, even as political pressure continues to mount following the backlash.