On hijab ban lift, Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge's message for BJP: ‘Set your house...'

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge backed CM Siddaramaiah's decision to lift the ban on Hijab and urged the opposition BJP to “set their own house in order”.

Published on: Dec 23, 2023, 10:53:57 IST

By Yamini C S

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Priyank Kharge, the Karnataka Minister for IT & BT and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) on Saturday chimed into the raging Hijab controversy, supporting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's decision to revoke the restrictions placed by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime in 2022.

The son of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, the cabinet minister is also the Chairman for Communications of the KPCC. He was reacting to allegations by the opposition BJP that the ruling party was doing “appeasement politics” and playing “divide and rule”.

ALSO READ | RLD backs Karnataka govt's Hijab move; BJP calls it ‘divide and rule’

Kharge asserted that the decision was as per the law and hit out at the saffron party by saying they should first “set their own house in order”.

“Whatever the Karnataka government is doing is as per the law and framework of the Constitution. BJP has no work to do, they should set their house in order first,” he said, while speaking to reporters.

The Karnataka unit of the BJP is heavily opposing the lift on the Hijab ban, B Y Vijayendra sating that the Congress-led government in the state is “dividing young minds along religious lines”.

ALSO READ | ‘Karnataka govt dividing young minds along religious lines’: State's BJP chief on decision to withdraw hijab ban

"CM Siddaramaiah's decision to withdraw the Hijab ban in educational institutions raises concerns about the secular nature of our educational spaces. By allowing religious attire in educational institutions Siddaramaiah government is promoting dividing young minds along religious lines, potentially hindering the inclusive learning environment," he said in a social media post.

The Hijab row first started in January last year when a Government Pre-University College in Udupi allegedly denied entry to six female students who were dressed in headscarves (hijab).

(With ANI inputs)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yamini C S
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.Read More

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