The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence on the raging controversy of the Karnataka hijab row. He also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state was complicit in the escalation of the issue.
He condemned the Hijab diktat by the Karnataka government and appreciated the Hijabi girl who countered saffron-clad students courageously, as they attempted to bully her shouting slogans of “Jai Shree Ram”.
“I salute the courage of our daughter. I salute the parents of the girl for raising such a courageous child which is not an easy task that the girl chanted “Allahu Akbar” in front of a group of boys who had come to scare her. This is the example we want to create. If you bow down (to them) today then you’ll remain the same forever. Stand up against those who are trying to scare you,” said Owaisi.
Owaisi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the PM failed to address the issue “amidst his political tirade” despite having spoken twice in the parliament.
“The PM has spoken twice since in Parliament but, amidst his political tirade, could not find a word to speak about the situation in Karnataka. What does his silence tell us? Is this his Beti bachao, beti padhao?” he questioned the PM, in a tweet.
He also tweeted out in support of the courageous students who did not back down despite the state’s diktat that asked them to shun their hijab, a part of their religious obligation, to avail their right to education.
“The young Muslim women students in Karnataka have demonstrated great courage under extreme provocation from Hindutva mobs. Their conduct in pursuit of their constitutional rights has been exemplary. The State has been complicit in this evil behaviour,” tweeted Owaisi.
While addressing a gathering in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, Owaisi took note of the raging Hijab controversy in Karnataka over Muslim students wearing hijab being denied entry into the college after Hindu students adorned saffron scarves to the institutions in a protest against it.
“If we fight democratically, then we will get our right. This is a message for all of you. For all the people of Uttar Pradesh,” he said in his address.
As the hijab row escalated in Karnataka, on Tuesday, videos of a Hijabi student being heckled by a group of saffron-clad students chanting slogans of “Jai Shree Ram” surfaced on social media.
Twitter users have come out in support and appreciated the girl for bravely standing up to the saffron-clad boys who attempted to bully her.
In the video that surfaced on social media, the girl who is a student of P. E. S. Engineering college can be seen parking her vehicle and proceeding towards the college, as a group of students wearing saffron scarves walk towards her shouting slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”. However, they were taken aback when the Hijabi girl countered their attack chanting “Allahu Akbar”.
The Hijab Row
Muslim girls of colleges in northern Karnataka were asked to shun their hijab after a group of male students arrived at the colleges, adorning saffron scarves, in a protest against girls being allowed to wear headscarves on the college premises.
Muslim girls of colleges in Karnataka were asked to shun their Hijab after a group of male students arrived at the college, adorning Saffron scarves, in a protest against Muslim girls being allowed to wear headscarves on the college premises.
The matter is being heard by the Karnataka high court, based on a writ petition of a college student in Udupi.
Protests have erupted in various districts and parts of Karnataka including Hassan, Shahpur in Yadadri, Belgavi, Haveri, Bhadravati in Shivamogga, Mandya, Raichur, Vijayanagar, and Chamarajpet and Hoskote in Bangalore.
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