Neither hijab nor saffron shawls will be allowed: Minister

Shilpa P. | NT

Education Minister B.C. Nagesh said that neither students wearing Hijab, nor saffron shawls will not be allowed to attend classes. While interacting with media persons in Mysuru on Monday, he said, “It is not our culture to keep the students outside the college premises, so we have made the girls who wore Hijab sit in a separate room in Kundapur, but they were not allowed to attend classes. Some politicians are misusing the innocence of girls. Let them wear Hijab till the college compound, but when they enter the college premises they must be in uniform.”

He pointed out that women are not allowed to enter mosques. “They should fight for their rights there. In Kolar a student has even performed Namaz in school and such things will not be allowed,” Nagesh said.

All eyes on HC verdict

While all eyes are set on the Karnataka High Court, which will be hearing the petition over the ‘Hijab’ row on Tuesday, several organisations such as National Women’s Front and Forward Trust, expressed solidarity with the struggle of Muslim girl students.

In a press meet in Bengaluru on Monday, local activists from the forums argued that the Constitution of India forbids any kind of discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, race, gender or place of birth. Wearing hijab is a part of practicing faith and the government must not deprive the students of education on the basis of their religion, they urged. They added that they have full faith in the law and the government of Karnataka. Meanwhile, entry to media has been prohibited in the premises of the college and security has been beefed in the campus to avoid any untoward incident. The government recently issued an order to maintain the status quo in the college until the High Court verdict.