Siddaramaiah urges CM Bommai to withdraw order banning hijab in Karnataka's minority institutions

New Delhi [India], February 18 : Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Friday urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to immediately withdraw the circular prohibiting students from wearing hijabs in minority institutions run under the state government.
"I urge CM of Karnataka BS Bommai to abide by High Court order & immediately withdraw the order issued by Minorities Welfare dept directing minority educational institutions," Siddaramaiah tweeted.
Amid the ongoing Hijab row, the state Minority Welfare Department on Thursday issued a circular to ban students from wearing saffron shawls, scarfs, hijab, religious flags inside classrooms until further orders at educational institutions that come under the ambit of the department.
Citing High Court order on the issue, the Congress leader said that this ban is only applicable in those schools where school welfare committee has prescribed uniforms.
"There is an interim order by High Court regarding Hijab issue. The court has said that the order is applicable only in those schools where school welfare committee has prescribed uniforms," the Congress leader said in a series of tweets.
"Principal Secretary of Minorities Dept has said in the circular that interim court order is applicable to all residential schools & Maulana Azad schools under Minorities department," he added.
Stating that the government order violates the High Court order, the Congress leader said, "There is no school welfare committee in minority institutions & interim high court order is applicable to only where school welfare committee has prescribed uniform policy. So the circular by Minorities dept is a violation of interim order."
Siddaramaiah further said that he along with state Congress President DK Shivakumar went to meet Bommai and asked the Chief Minister to resolve the issue.
"Our main concern is that education should not be denied to anyone," he said.
Taking a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said, "PM Narendra Modi speaks of Beti Bachao, Beti Padao. But BJP leaders, dancing to the tune of RSS, are doing everything to deny education to Muslim girls. What does PM Narendra Modi have to say about this?"
"I condemn the role of all the organizations that are behind Hijab controversy. Be it RSS, SDPI or Bajrang Dal. All fundamentalist organizations are a threat to peace & harmony," he added.
The Hijab protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU College in the Udupi district of the state alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab.
Following this incident, students of different colleges arrived at Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles. The situation was similar in several colleges in the Udupi district.
The Pre-University Education Board has released a circular stating that students can wear only the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious practices will be allowed in colleges.