PATNA: Bihar’s newly appointed education minister, Mithilesh Tiwari, courted controversy on Monday when he said that girls were not required to study, as they should remain within the four walls of the house.
In the video which went viral on social media soon, the first-time minister, who is a BJP MLA from Baikunthpur in Gopalganj district, apparently sought to undermine the importance of education for girls and suggested that daughters should remain within the household rather than step out for public demonstrations.
When a reporter interrupted and reasoned that education is girls’ right, he responded, “Girls will get their rights automatically.”
Interestingly, Mithilesh Tiwari was a teacher, holding a BA (Honours) degree in Economics, before joining politics. He also ran a coaching institute in Patna for some time.
Tiwari’s remarks are in sharp contrast to former chief minister Nitish Kumar, who promoted education of girls and women. His innovative idea to provide bicycles to schoolgirls improved attendance of girls in government schools across the state. Subsequently, the ‘poshak’ yojna was launched under which money was provided for their school uniforms.
Tiwari joined the ABVP in 1988 and entered active politics through BJP in 1990. During the RJD’s tenure, the BJP fielded him in February 2005, but he lost. In 2015, he won the election, leaving behind the JD (U)-RJD candidate. In the 2020 elections, he was unable to secure a victory, contesting from Baikunthpur. In 2025, he emerged victorious by defeating the RJD candidate.