Hijab controversy: BJP conspiracy to deny Muslim girls education, says Siddaramaiah

KEY STORY

• The Congress leader said that abruptly introducing a uniform code towards the end of the school term shows that the BJP government is deliberately creating a controversy.

• He added that those wearing saffron shawls to college are trying to create communal disharmony. “Were they wearing the saffron shawls before? They are wearing it because they (Muslim students) were wearing hijab. This is an attempt to create disharmony in society. The BJP is doing it intentionally, and this is part of their politics. They are doing this so that Muslim girls are denied education. This is bad, there should be humanity. People of all religions should be allowed to follow their faith. This has been a system for so long, and they have been no problems. Let this continue,” he reporters outside the Vidhan Soudha on Sunday.

• In another interaction with the media, he said that the government introduced restrictions on uniforms with an ill intention. “Whatever uniform code that has to be prescribed; it should have been done at the beginning of the year. Doing this in January or February is deliberate. The conspiracy of the BJP is to prevent Muslim girls from getting an education,” he said.

• “The government could have solved this (hijab row) problem. If students can wear a turban, why can’t students wear a hijab? Girls have been wearing it for a long time, there was no breach of peace then. Government asking people to maintain peace is just drama,” he added.

• While the BJP didn’t respond directly to Siddaramaiah’s comments, Karnataka revenue minister R Ashoka said that Pakistan’s external intelligence agency ISI is involved in making the hijab row an international issue.

• “The education of students is getting affected (because of the hijab row). Some are taking transfer certificates, while some are not coming to schools at all. Like I have said there is an ISI involvement in this. An incident in a Udupi school has now become an international issue. Do you think six students can do this? There is clearly a conspiracy behind this. All I asked the students is that education is important, not religion. The country is more important than religion. They should understand it,” said Ashoka.

CONCLUSION

• On Thursday, BJP leaders in Karnataka had said the Congress party is harping on a ‘non-existent’ controversy over state minister KS Eshwarappa’s comments on the national flag to deflect attention away from the ongoing hijab controversy.

• A senior party leader said that Congress has realised that the recent hijab controversy has consolidated the people of the state behind the saffron party. “Our stand that religion will be kept outside the classrooms has brought several consolidated our vote bank in the coastal region. Congress didn’t know how to respond to us in this hijab controversy and when they realised it was politically affecting them, they have picked up this issue. They don’t want the hijab issue to be discussed in the Assembly,” the leader told HT.