[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The minister, Mangal Pandey, had said there was nothing wrong in Patna-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) asking doctors to declare their virginity and if they had more than one wife as part of their marital declaration

A day after a bizarre marital declaration form issued by the Patna-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) for its staff asking them to declare whether they were “bechelor, widower or virgin (sic)” kicked up a row, Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey caught himself in the eye of a storm for not only suggesting that there was nothing wrong with the institute’s move but, in an utterly ridiculous explanation, also asserting that “virgin means an unmarried girl”.

Pandey, a BJP legislator who was recently sworn-in to the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government after his famous power-swap, had been asked by various mediapersons in Patna to explain why medical practitioners were required to give a declaration of their ‘virginity’ and why should they be asked if they had been “married to a person who has no other wife living (sic)” or if they have “more than one wife”.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1501756170652{border-top-width: 20px !important;background-color: #a2b1bf !important;}”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

The form, riddled with errors, gave applicants three options to disclose their marital status:

1. I am a ”bechelor”/widower/virgin (sic).
2. I am married and have only one wife living.
3. I am married to a person who has no other wife living/ I am married to a person who has another wife living.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]In what can only be termed as an unapologetic display of his lack of knowledge and a cavalier disregard for people’s sensitivity, Pandey said, on Thursday: “I have looked up ‘virgin’ in the dictionary. It means kanya, kunwari (girl, unmarried) or Punya Bhumi (sacred land)… I don’t see anything objectionable in this.”

The minister further added that he had also spoken to IGIMS officials after the controversy over the declaration form broke out and was informed that “the same format for marital declaration is followed by All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).”

The minister’s weird comments went viral on social media, with several members of the Twitteratti reacting to Pandey’s new ‘definition’ for virginity.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]

Later on Thursday, as controversy over Pandey’s comments and the institute’s declaration form began attracting media attention, IGIMS withdrew the document and issued a new marital declaration form which did not have the word ‘virgin’. However, the institute retained other bizarre questions regarding disclosure of whether the employee has “only one wife living” or in case of a female employee if her “husband has no other living wife”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]