Nobody can question my right to consider the Constitution my religion: Minister Priyank Kharge
Bengaluru: Karnataka Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge has challenged the critics of his comments on Sanatana Dharma, saying that he was a follower of the Constitution and the critics had no right to object to the fact, just as he had no right to question the faith others had in their respective religions.
Addressing reporters on Thursday, the minister said, "My statement on the matter is clear. I have not spoken against any religion and will not change my stand. I have merely stated that I have faith in the importance of equality and follow the principles in the Constitution of India. I also need not justify Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin son Udhayanidhi Stalin's statement."
When asked about an FIR being filed against him in Uttar Pradesh, Kharge said that he was not worried. "I have nothing to do with it, regardless of whether an FIR is filed in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh or Gujarat. They are welcome to file an FIR against me for merely stating that the Constitution is the religion I follow," the minister added.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
