Bengaluru: A 19-year-old girl who is a member of the Bajrang Dal has reportedly delivered a hate speech on the hijab issue.
Although the girl, Pooja has delivered the speech at a protest organized by various outfits in Vijayapura on February 23, police registered a suo motu case against the teenager after the video went viral on social.
While addressing the crowd at the protest site, the girl said, “If you ask for water, Indians will give you juice. If you ask for milk, we’ll give you buttermilk. But, if you want the hijab all over India, we will chop you all with Shivaji’s sword”, The Wire reported.
Later, speaking to media persons, Pooja tried to justify her speech by saying that the statement was not meant for all Muslims. She further said that the “Shivaji’s sword” statement was given in anger.
After the video of the speech went viral, the girl who is a graduate student has been booked under various sections of IPC.
Karnataka Hijab controversy
The Karnataka High Court bench on Friday concluded hearing petitions seeking the right to wear hijab while attending classes and asked all counsel to submit written submissions as it reserved its verdict.
The three-judge bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, and Justices Krishna S. Dixit, and J.M. Khazi heard arguments and counter-arguments for 11 days on a day today basis considering the urgency and sensitivity of the matter.
Counsel appearing for petitioners who are college students maintained that the government order issued in this regard does not have any legal standing and it violated their fundamental right to practice of religion and thereby denied them right to education which is paramount. They also argued that the constitution of the College Development Committee (CDC), and the School Development and Management Committee (SDMC) do not have legal sanctity.
The government, through Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi, argued that the government has no role in taking decisions on wearing of hijab, and it is left to the discretion of the CDCs and SDMCs.
The hijab row which started from Udupi Pre-University Girls’ College has become a crisis in the state, with students refusing to attend classes without hijab and maintaining that they will wait until the final verdict is given. Though the high court had issued an interim order banning both hijab and saffron shawls or scarves inside the classrooms, but the agitation is ongoing.
With inputs from IANS
