Hijab ban is a conspiracy of BJP to prevent Muslim girls from getting education: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, Feb 21: Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah slammed the BJP accusing the ruling party of banning Hijab in educational institutions across the state in an aim to prevent Muslim girls from getting educated.

"The code of uniform should have been prescribed at beginning of the session. Hijab ban in educational institutions in the month of January-February is deliberate and intentional. It's a conspiracy of the BJP to prevent Muslim girls from getting an education. It is at the instance of RSS that the development committee is prescribing the dress code under the chairmanship of Raghupati Bhatt. What is the harm to other students if somebody wears in hijab or turban to class? If students wear Cross, what is the harm to other students?" the news agency quoted Siddaramaiah as saying.

He further added, "The govt 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 is asking people to maintain peace is just drama."

The Hijab protests began on February 4 at the Government Girls PU college in Udupi district in Karnataka when some students alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students were allegedly denied entry to college wearing hijab by Muslim women earlier this month.

The protests spread across the state and the issue is now before the Karnataka High Court.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government on Friday submitted before the Karnataka High Court that Hijab is not an essential religious practice of the Muslim faith and preventing it does not violate the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.