Now, Sena demands ban on burqa

Shiv Sena, which is facing flak over pushing Mumbai University to withdraw Rohinton Mistry's Booker prize-nominated book, today opened a new front by calling for a ban on burqa worn by Muslim women.

Shiv Sena, which is facing flak over pushing Mumbai University to withdraw Rohinton Mistry's Booker prize-nominated book, on Tuesday opened a new front by calling for a ban on burqa (veil) worn by Muslim women.

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"If the burqa is used to steal children, then we demand that it be banned as per law," an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana said.

A two-month-old baby boy was kidnapped on October 15 allegedly by an unidentified burqa-clad woman from a civic-run hospital in suburban Santacruz.

Lauding the French government on its decision to ban 'burqas' and other full-body robes worn by some Muslim women, the editorial said the French President had taken a 'revolutionary step' to ban the burqa.

"When burqa was banned in Turkey by Kemal Pasha, Islam did not come in between. Why only is it so in India?" it said.

Sena is under fire for forcing the University of Mumbai to drop the Booker nominated novel by Rohinton Mistry, Such a Long Journey, from its BA syllabus, alleging that the book 'poorly represented' the saffron party.