Hijab row: Those unwilling to follow uniform dress code can explore other options: B C Nagesh
Bengaluru, Feb 6: Amid the raging row over wearing 'Hijab' in educational institutions in Karnataka, state Education Minister B C Nagesh on Sunday said students who are unwilling to adhere to the uniform dress code are at liberty to explore other options.
"Just as rules are followed in the military, the same is to be done here (in educational institutions) as well. Options are open for those who are not willing to follow it, which they can make use of," Nagesh told reporters in Mysuru.
The minister appealed to the students not to become 'tools' in the hands of political parties.
The Bommai government had on Saturday issued a circular banning clothes which disturbed peace, harmony and, law and order in the educational institutions across the state.
On the circular, Nagesh said the government felt the need to clarify on this matter and issued a circular.
He also clarified that the students can to come to the school wearing Hijab, but inside the campus they have to place it in their bags.
Wondering why the problem emerged all of a sudden when students of all the faiths were coming to schools wearing uniform, he said everyone was learning and playing together with a sense of equality but never ever have religious differences cropped up.
According to Nagesh, trouble began in December when some children in Udupi were instigated to wear Hijab saying 'Sharia' (Islamic law) prescribes such dress code and they were duty-bound to abide by it.
The minister further claimed that many children were asked to do so but a majority of them did not agree.
"In Udupi school where the incident occurred, out the 92 Muslim children only six girls came wearing Hijab and succumbed to the 'poisonous seeds'. Other children came to the school wearing their school uniform," he said.
Rejecting the Congress party's charge that the BJP government does not want Muslim students to continue their studies, Nagesh pointed out that the Karnataka Education Act was not brought by the BJP but Congress, which had ruled for maximum years in the state.
The minister urged the grand old party not to create divisions in the society for political gains.
In December last year, some girl students started coming to a government school in Udupi district wearing Hijab, against the prescribed uniform norm.
In protest against the violation of dress code, a section of Hindu students also started coming to classes wearing saffron shawls.
Even before the matter could be resolved, the hijab-saffron shawl controversy spread to more pre-university colleges in the state. In Kalaburagi district headquarters town, Muslim girls led by the Congress MLA Kaneez Fathima staged a protest on Saturday demanding permission to allow female students in the schools and pre-university colleges to wear Hijab. The issue took a political turn with the political parties in the state indulging in mudslinging.
While the Congress backed the Muslim girls citing constitutional rights guaranteed, the BJP stood against wearing of 'Hijab' in classes with its state president saying the state government will not allow Talibanisation of the education system.
The Karnataka High Court on February 8 will hear the petitions filed by five girls studying in a Government Pre-university College in Udupi, questioning hijab restriction in college.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
