Patna: Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Saturday said he was “disappointed” to witness the row after the niqab (veil) of a doctor was removed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Khan was referring to a video clip which sparked a major political row, which took place on Monday at the chief minister’s secretariat in Patna when Ayush doctors had gathered to receive their letters of appointment. When the woman came up for her letter, Kumar saw her niqab, said ‘what is this’ and then removed the veil.
“It pains me to hear the word ‘dispute’ in this case. Can there be any row between a father and a daughter?” Khan asked.
Talking to reporters, the governor said, “What have you people made out of it? This man considers female students as his daughters.
Meanwhile, Principal of the Government Tibbi College and Hospital, Mahfoozur Rahman said, “Nusrat’s family said that they want to escape media coverage, and that the female doctor will rethink whether to join or not.”
Though Saturday is the last date of joining, the principal said that the government and the department will consider extending the date in this “special case”.
“It is up to Nusrat, eventually. She can also consider the option to pursue higher education over the posting, which will improve her chances in the future,” the principal said.
He said, as per her family, if Nusrat joins, she will do it with her privacy intact.
“Nusrat Parveen’s husband said that the family is disappointed by the row peddled by the media,” he said.
“They have also denounced the news of their travel to Kolkata as false,” he said, adding that there is “no anger among the family members with Nitish Kumar or the government.”
He claimed that Nusrat last attended the college on December 17 or 18, and did not express any sort of anger or resentment.
The principal claimed to have talked to Nusrat’s family over the telephone on Friday evening.
“They said that wrong news is being disseminated in the media, and want to escape any sort of coverage,” he said.
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