Hijab verdict: Will try to win hearts of "misguided" Muslim girl students, says Minister B C Nagesh
Bengaluru(PTI): With the Karnataka High Court upholding the state government's decision on restrictions on hijab inside classrooms, the the Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh on Tuesday said we will try to win the hearts of the 'misguided' Muslim girls who are against the move, and 'bring them in the mainstream of education'.
He also said the shortcomings in the Karnataka Education Act-1983, especially the one related to the school uniform, will be rectified.
"We will try to win the hearts of those girls who were 'misguided'. We will try to bring them in the mainstream of education," Nagesh told reporters.
He was reacting to the High Court order which said hijab (headscarf) was not an essential religious practice in Islam.
"I have faith that the girls will come to the college and continue their education because the people of Karnataka neither speak against the court verdict nor go against it. I believe that these girls were misguided. They will be 'all right' in the coming days," he added.
On the anomalies in the KEA-1983, he said, "Based on the judgment, the Karnataka government will try to rectify the certain confusions in the KEA."
According to him, school uniforms help in instilling patriotic feeling.
"We all knew for many years that school Uniform helps in instilling patriotic feeling. We will make uniform mandatory to make students realise that they are the children of the nation," Nagesh said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra too welcomed the High Court order upholding the government order regarding the mandatory school uniform.
"Everyone should abide by the HC order. Maintaining the law and order is everyone's responsibility," he said.
Jnanendra added that the police have taken all kinds of precautionary measures to avoid any untoward incident in the wake of the High Court order.
The Karnataka High Court today dismissed petitions filed by some girl students studying in two Government Pre-University colleges in Udupi district, seeking permission to wear Hijab inside classrooms.
The prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to, a three-judge bench of the court further noted.
The bench also maintained that the government has power to issue impugned government order dated February 5, 2022 and no case is made out for its invalidation.
By the said order, the state government had banned wearing clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public order in schools and colleges.
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2010 CWG 'scam': Delhi court accepts ED closure report in case against Suresh Kalmadi
New Delhi, Apr 28 (PTI): Bringing down curtains on a 13-year-old case, a Delhi court on Monday accepted the Enforcement Directorate's closure report in a money laundering case against Suresh Kalmadi, the former head of the organising committee of 2010 Commonwealth Games and then secretary general Lalit Bhanot and others.
The acceptance of the closure report brings to end the money laundering angle in the alleged scam, which took place 15 years ago.
The allegations of corruption in conducting the 2010-Commonwealth Games (CWG) triggered a huge political uproar in the country, leading to filing of several criminal and money laundering cases, including the present one.
Kalmadi and others were accused of misconduct in award and execution of two important contracts for the games.
Special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal noted the CBI had already closed the corruption case, based on which the ED started its money laundering probe and accepted the report, which also named CWG OC's then COO, Vijay Kumar Gautam, its then treasurer, A K Matto, Event Knowledge Service (EKS), Switzerland, and CEO, Craig Gordon MeLatchey.
The judge noted ED's submission that the offence of money laundering was not found during its investigation.
"Since during the investigations, the prosecution has failed to make out a offence under section 3 (money laundering) of the PMLA... as no offence under section 3 of the PMLA has been made out or has been committed, despite discreet investigations by the ED, therefore, there is no reason to continue with the present ECIR, as a consequence, the closure report filed by the ED stands accepted," the judge held.
The sole money laundering investigation was initiated by the ED based on the case lodged by the CBI.
According to the CBI, the works contracts related to Commonwealth Games were Games Workforce Service (GWS) and Games Planning, Project & Risk Management Services (GPPRMS).
An undue pecuniary gain was caused by the accused persons to the to the consortium of EKS and Ernst and Young, by way of awarding the two contracts in a deliberate and wrongful manner and caused corresponding loss of Rs 30 crore to OC, CWG, the CBI alleged.
The CBI later filed a closure report in January 2014, saying "no incriminating evidence surfaced during the investigation in the matter" and the allegations in the FIR could not be substantiated against the accused persons.
