Lucknow: Amid ongoing hijab row in the Indian state of Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Member of Indian Parliament from Uttar Pradesh, Sakshi Maharaj, has said that a law should be made to ban hijab across India.
The BJP MP, after casting vote in the fourth phase of Uttar Pradesh polls said, “The opposition brought the Hijab issue in the run-up to the elections. This rule (for uniform) was formed in Karnataka, people did this (row) in reply. But I think, a law should be made to ban hijab across the country”.
Karnataka has been witnessing widespread protests over the hijab row that erupted after six hijab-clad Muslim girl students were not allowed to enter a government pre-university college in Udupi.
The Muslim girls from Udupi district have moved the HC challenging the restriction on hijab inside the educational institutions. The petitioners, including a dozen Muslim female students, told the court that wearing the hijab was a fundamental right guaranteed under India’s constitution and an essential practice of Islam.
The Karnataka government’s move to ban hijab in educational institutions has led to protests in other parts of India and drew criticism from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and other countries including the US.
Karnataka is ruled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, whose leaders have invoked the hijab controversy at election rallies in some northern states where voting is taking place in phases. Web Desk
