Patna: A day after Nitish Kumar made objectionable remarks on the role of women's education in population control on the floor of the Assembly, an advocate in Muzaffarpur district court on Wednesday filed a case against the Bihar Chief Minister with the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM).
The petitioner's advocate, Anil Kumar Singh, said that despite holding a constitutional post, Nitish Kumar outraged the modesty and dignity of women, which is completely unacceptable.
After accepting the plea, the court listed it for hearing on November 25.
On Tuesday, Nitish Kumar left a number of female legislators feeling awkward as he explained his population control theory on the floor of the House. Elaborating on the findings of the caste survey, he contended that women's education has helped the state control the rising population.
However, his explanation made female legislators feel awkward as he used some risque language.
"After marriage, men ask their wives to establish sexual relations but as we have educated the women in Bihar, they ask their husbands to stop at the right time. Due to this, the population of Bihar is under check," Nitish Kumar said, even as his remarks evoked strong criticism from the opposition BJP.
Following his statement, leaders of opposition parties, Samrat Choudhary, Giriraj Singh, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Nivedita Singh and many others heavily criticized the CM. The National Commission of Women (NCW) condemned it as well and asked for an immediate apology from him.
While issuing a statement uploaded on X, NCW chief Rekha Sharma said: “On behalf of every woman in this country, as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, I demand an immediate and unequivocal apology from the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar. His crass remarks in the Vidhan Sabha are an affront to the dignity and respect that every woman deserves. Such derogatory and cheap language used during his speech is a dark stain on our society. If a leader can make such comments so openly in a democracy, one can only imagine the horror the state must be enduring under his leadership. We stand firm against such behaviour and call for accountability”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Nitish Kumar tendered an apology for the comments he made in the Assembly on Tuesday.
“If I have said something which is condemned by every section of society, I apologise for that statement and also withdraw it. I want to condemn myself for such a statement,” Kumar said while interacting with media persons in Patna.
With inputs from agencies