K'taka hijab row: BJP leader demands 'One School, One Uniform'; points fingers at PFI, CFI

The hijab controversy in Karnataka is catching heat as political parties came forward blaming politicians for provoking students to gain political mileage. Following the development, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader CT Ravi has now come forward to make a controversial statement. Reacting to the event, Ravi rubbished the demands made and said that all institutions must follow, “one school, one uniform”.

BJP’s CT Ravi on Friday said that the girls must stop going to school if they couldn’t follow the school rules. He stated that the uniforms were part of a system and it was not personal space. He also made a strong-worded statement by saying that the girls couldn’t wear ‘whatever they wanted', in reference to the hijabs.

"Today, THEY will ask permission to attend school wearing Hijab. Tomorrow, THEY will demand Sharia Law. ONE SCHOOL, ONE UNIFORM. If you are not following the school rules, stop going to school. Schools are not your personal space that you can wear whatever you want," the BJP leader said while emphasising that Sharia Law could be the community’s next demand.

'It will take just 5 mins to end the Hijab controversy', says Udupi College Development Committee VP

Meanwhile, Udupi College Development Committee vice president and BJP leader Yashpal Suvarna also dared the Muslim girls wearing hijabs to school. He stated that the girls could stop the controversy in just five minutes of work.

"Like I said, if we protest unitedly it will take us just 5 minutes to put an end to the Hijab controversy and respond to them. Another aspect is that there are 900 students in the college, so we have to look at their futures here as well," Yashpal Suvarna said.

"The six students and their families with support from PFI and CFI are trying to ruin the future of other students. We will work together to ensure the future of the other students is protected. We work together to stop them from making this an issue," the BJP leader said.

Karnataka hijab controversy

Back in January, in a shocking instance, a few students of the Government Pre-University College in Udupi were denied entry into a classroom for wearing a hijab. Following this, some members of the Islamic Organisation of India along with the girls who were barred from entering the class, approached the District Collector, raising concerns over the incident.

Apart from that, many students also claimed that they were not allowed to speak in Urdu or Arabic languages as a part of the restriction imposed by the college. Following this, several students started demonstrating outside the classroom. The protests have now spread to other district colleges in the state.

The college administration has maintained that hijab was not banned in the college and students are allowed to enter the college with hijab, however, they cannot wear them inside the classrooms.

The Karnataka government has set up an expert committee for resolving the issue and has asked all the girls to follow the uniform rules until the committee recommendation arrives.

On the other hand, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, on Thursday, said that children should "neither wear hijab nor saffron shawls at schools".

He has also directed the police to keep watch on religious organisations that are trying to undermine the country's unity in this regard. Speaking to reporters, he opined that no one should come to school for practising their religion, as it is a place where all students should learn together with a feeling of oneness.

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