Siddu flays parties behind hijab row

NT Correspondent

Congress Legislature Party Leader Siddaramaiah said he would condemn all fundamentalist organisations allegedly behind the hijab-saffron shawl controversy which originated from a college in Udupi but has now spread to several districts in the state.

“Be it the RSS, Bajrang Dal, BJP or SDPI, I will strongly condemn them for sowing the seeds of hate in young minds. Denying education to the girl child is akin to treason. Girls belonging to all castes and communities must get access to education”, he said while addressing a news conference here on Friday.

Siddaramaiah said the Congress Party is wedded to secularism and would not allow denial of education to women. The BJP is trying to prevent Muslim girl children from getting educated. On one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says ‘Beti padao’, ‘beti bachao’ and on the other hand, he has failed to direct his party’s government in Karnataka not to stop girl students from attending classes wearing the hijab.

The former CM claimed the Sangh Parivar had unnecessarily raking up the controversy. The wearing of hijab is not new as it has been in practice for many years. While some wear it, others don’t. It is a personal choice of Muslim students. The wearing of hijab will not cause problems for anyone. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Jains have been practising their religion without any problems and it must continue in the coming days. This is a fundamental right of every community which has been guaranteed by the Constitution and none must meddle with it, he stressed.

The Congress leader said the high court has given an interim order regarding the hijab-saffron shawl row. This is not applicable to institutions where an uniform dress code has been formulated by the respective School Development Monitoring Committee, he said.

Siddaramaiah also sought to know why police are being deployed near educational institutions?