Karnataka Hijab Row: Mehbooba, Omar criticise K'taka college admin for denying entry to Muslim girls wearing hijab
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Muslim girl students of the Kundapur PU college, who reached the institution wearing the hijab, stopped at the gate by the principal on February 3, Thursday/Image from Twitter
Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on Thursday hit out at a college administration in Karnataka for denying entry to Muslim girls who were wearing hijab.
Mehbooba also hit out at the Union government saying its slogan for educating girl child was "hollow" as Muslim girls were denied education for wearing hijab.
"Beti bachao beti parhao is yet another hollow slogan. Muslim girls are being denied the right to education simply because of their attire. Legitimising the marginalisation of Muslims is one more step towards converting Gandhi's India into Godhse's India," she tweeted.
Taking a dig at the dress code diktat against Muslim girl students, Abdullah posted pictures of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, veteran BJP leader Uma Bharti and Lok Sabha member from Bhopal Pragya Thakur wearing saffron robes alongside the picture of Muslim students wearing hijab.
"Individuals are free to choose what to wear. You may or may not like their choice but that's a right we all have. If these public representatives can wear saffron robes, then these girls can use hijab. Muslims are not second class citizens," he wrote on Twitter.
The two leaders were reacting to media reports and videos in Twitter which shows PU college at Kundapora in Karnataka denying entry to Muslim girl students who were wearing hijab.
The college had witnessed a grave situation on Wednesday when around 100 Hindu boys came to classes wearing saffron shawls to protest against the girls' wearing hijabs inside classrooms. They, however, did not repeat their protest on Thursday.
A meeting called by Kundapur MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty with the Muslim girls and their parents had failed to reach a consensus on Wednesday, with the parents insisting that their children had the right to wear hijabs.
Meanwhile, state Fisheries Minister and Udupi district-in-charge S Angara told reporters in Udupi that the status quo ordered by the state government disallowing hijabs inside classrooms will continue till the committee appointed to study the issue submits its report.
"Everyone has to follow the prescribed dress code in educational institutions. Different institutions cannot have different dress codes", he said
Earlier on Thursday, Muslim girl students of the Kundapur PU college, who reached the institution today wearing the hijab, were stopped at the gate by the principal. They were informed that they are not allowed to wear the headscarf inside the classrooms and asked to remove it before entering.
Media reports also claim that hooligans claiming affiliation with some right-wing group had visited the college, objecting to the attire of Muslim girl students.