Belagavi: SIO Karnataka condemns ‘communal conspiracy’ to target Muslim Headmaster
Bengaluru: The Karnataka unit of the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) has condemned the alleged attempt to poison children at a government primary school in Belagavi district, calling it a shocking act driven by communal hatred aimed at removing a Muslim headmaster from his post.
In a statement released on Sunday, SIO Karnataka expressed concern over the incident that occurred at the Government Lower Primary School in Hoolikatti village of Savadatti taluk. The organisation said the poisoning of the school’s water tank was a “heinous conspiracy” intended to harm children and malign the headmaster, Suleman Gorinayak, solely because of his religious identity.
According to the statement, Gorinayak has been serving at the school for the past 13 years and was allegedly targeted in a deliberate effort to get him transferred. “This shameful act of attempting to kill 41 innocent children just to remove a Muslim headmaster is a disgrace to civil society,” said the statement. It noted that 12 children reportedly fell ill after consuming the contaminated water.
SIO said the incident is a dangerous reflection of how hatred and intolerance have taken root in society. “The fact that communal hatred has stooped to a level where innocent children’s lives are put at risk is extremely worrying,” it stated.
The organisation welcomed the police action in arresting the accused but urged the Karnataka government to take the matter seriously and ensure that strict legal action is taken. SIO further demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible so that such acts are never repeated.
It also called for proper medical care for the affected children and justice for their families.
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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.
