BMTC refutes channel report on Hindu drivers protests of employees' skull caps

Bengaluru: The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and workers unions have refuted a report made by a Kannada news channel that Hindu drivers were allegedly protesting Muslim employees sporting skull caps at work by wearing saffron shawls.

Recently, a private news channel showed the montage of BMTC drivers and some Hindu employees wearing saffron shawls as they were outraged that Muslim colleagues were wearing skull caps while at work. The BMTC officials, after a detailed probe into the claim said that such an incident did not happen there and the news channel report was not true.

An official of the BMTC told The News Minute, "They showed a montage of unrelated clippings and then claimed that Hindu employees were wearing saffron shawls to protest against Muslim employees wearing skull caps. This is not true at all. The driver they spoke to had a saffron coloured cloth and when the reporter asked him about it, the driver had answered saying he was using it to dry his face. But they went ahead and reported it as a protest against Muslim employees. This news is fake."

According to the report, an organization of 1500 registered members was also formed by the saffron-sporting employees. Although BMTC has uniforms for drivers, conductors and other employees, some wear skull caps along with the uniform which has been the norm for several years now. HV Anantha Subbarao, KSRTC Staff and Workers Federation President while speaking to TNM, said that they haven't received any formal complaints from any of the employees about it. "This has not been reported anywhere in the state. We only heard about this from media reports.

`The practice of wearing skull caps by some Muslims has been around for some time and they also offer prayers. But this has not caused any problems before. Each depot also celebrates Ganesha festival where all employees regardless of their religion take part. Never has there been any communal tension here," he said. Subbarao also said that if some Hindus wanted to wear saffron shawls due to their beliefs, then it was their prerogative. "But they should not wear it as a form of retaliation. In general, there are a lot of Muslims working in this sector and we have never faced a problem of communal disharmony. The transport segment has always co-existed very peacefully and we condemn any hateful propaganda," he added.

Leaders from the unions were incensed by the already existing caste-based groups, who feared that the slightest spark of communal tension would escalate the conflict. "We need the higher-ups to be more vigilant. If the ruling political dispensation chooses to encourage such division among people, then it will become very difficult. The Chief Minister has to be more alert and make sure no dissension surfaces," he cautioned.

CITU-affiliated Karnataka Transport Employees Federation's Vice President Prakash also said that there were no issues among the staff. "There might be a few individuals who might be following their religious beliefs and wearing shawls. But to say there is a planned campaign or a formation of an organisation is totally false," he said. Prakash acknowledged that some people might be following political parties whether it was BJP or Congress. "The action of a few individuals who might be wearing something in their personal capacity cannot be construed as a planned campaign. Saying there is an organisation formed with so many members is completely untrue," he said.

In January this year, a complaint was raise by a BMTC bus passenger saying there were saffron flags inside the bus. The passenger tweeted to BMTC and Transport complaining about the communalisation of government vehicles. The flag were immediately removed by the BMTC after the complaint.

A similar incident was reported in Kerala after a Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus driver was pictured to be wearing a skull cap. Although it was alleged he was not in uniform, which was proved wrong after a fact check.