Hijab row: Govt duty-bound to protect girl students, says Karnataka Congress MP DK Suresh

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 15 : Surprised at the Karnataka High Court's verdict to uphold the ban on Hijab at educational institutions on Tuesday, the Karnataka Congress MP DK Suresh held the government responsible for providing protection to the female students.
"Islamic practice is accepted by the constitution; don't know how Court has given this verdict. We'll wait and see. Education is also very important. Government has to give protection to all girl students. Petitions have been rejected but customs continue," DK Suresh told ANI.
Earlier in the day, the Karnataka High Court dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions and said that wearing Hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam.
A bench of Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi said that no case is made out for invalidating the Government Order of February 5.
The Hijab row had erupted in January this year when the Government PU College in Udupi allegedly barred six girls wearing the hijab from entering. Following this, the girls sat in protest sat outside college over being denied entry.
After this, boys of several colleges in Udupi started attending classes wearing saffron scarves. This protest spread to other parts of the state as well leading to protests and agitations in several places in Karnataka.
A batch of petitions was filed against the government's order in the Karnataka High Court by some girls seeking permission to wear the hijab in educational institutions.