Karnataka to reverse BJP regime's Hijab ban: Siddaramaiah

Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said he will be reversing the ban on hijab that the BJP had imposed in February 2022. Taking to social media platform X, the CM slammed the BJP, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'sab ka saath sab ka vikas' was a ploy, and the saffron party was dividing society on the basis of clothes and caste.

Sources in the government attribute this move to the Congress wanting to consolidate Muslim votes before the 2024 Parliament elections. “While the community favours the Congress, the party may be trying to ensure votes aren’t split between itself, the AIMIM and the SDPI,” they told ET.

The hijab row began when six pre-university college (PUC) girls attempted to attend an examination in their college in Udupi while wearing a hijab. The college said its uniform policy did not allow for the hijab, and refused to let them attend. The controversy escalated when groups of Hindu students started coming to their colleges wearing saffron scarves to protest against Muslim students being allowed with hijabs.


The BJP regime then had ruled that the college was justified in its actions in not allowing hijab. In March 2022, the Karnataka high court upheld the ban, saying students could not attend college in hijabs as it was against the uniform.

While reversing the ban was not part of the Congress’ manifesto, the party had vociferously opposed the then-ruling BJP imposing the ban.

The BJP retailiated, saying the unifirm policy had been implented to ensure all students are equal. Taking to X, the party tweeted, "Siddaramaiah's guarantee is to sow the poison of religion in the garden of peace."