Hijab row: Some students are being remote-controlled, says Kumaraswamy

Former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) on Wednesday urged the BJP government to create a conducive academic atmosphere in the state even as he claimed that the agitating Muslim girls fighting for hijab are being “remote-controlled”.

Kumaraswamy was speaking in the Assembly on communal harmony in the education sector in the wake of the hijab controversy.

“The [Muslim] students have said they will boycott exams if hijab isn’t allowed. This is not their feeling; they’re being remote-controlled. You need to hit those remote controls,” Kumaraswamy told the government.

Also read | Hijab row: Students remain absent for preparatory examinations

“Some girls have been misled. There was no problem like this in educational institutions. The hearts of students are unadulterated as milk. But, some have tried to poison their hearts,” Kumaraswamy said.

Kumaraswamy claimed that MLAs from his own party, including his wife Anitha Kumaraswamy (Ramanagara MLA), asked him not to raise the hijab issue given its sensitivity.

“Karnataka was seen as the Kashi for education. But, where are we going with our politics? Kids are boycotting classes...what do the kids know? All of us have our agendas and standing, but the government has the responsibility of creating a good environment in schools and colleges,” Kumaraswamy said, urging the government to hold talks with religious leaders.

Kumaraswamy’s speech saw several interruptions as MLAs rose to narrate instances of communal harmony in Karnataka.

“In my constituency, there’s Murugamalla that has the Ammajan-Bawajan dargah. During the annual Urus every household, irrespective of Hindu or Muslim, offer prayers,” Chintamani JD(S) MLA Krishna Reddy said.

Bagalkot BJP MLA Veeranna Charantimath said more Hindus than Muslims celebrate Muharram in his constituency. “But, the problem is polarisation for the sake of vote bank,” he said.

Arguing that narratives on the Hindu-Muslim unity are ‘skewed’, Revenue Minister R Ashoka said tolerance has to be a two-way street. “We go to the Ajmer Dargah. We also participate in Bakrid,” he said.

“The point is, when a Maharashtra Congress MLA gives a cash reward to the Mandya girl for shouting slogans, isn’t that provocation? To ask just one side to be tolerant isn’t fair. Both have to follow it,” he said.

Ashoka was referring to Muskan, the Mandya student who shouted ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ when she was heckled by Hindu students with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants. “The Rs 5 lakh compensation...we shouldn’t encourage that. There was no threat to her life. They built up a story.”

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