No one should come to school for practicing their religion: Home Minister Araga Jnanendra
Bengaluru, Feb 3: Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Thursday said children should neither wear hijab nor saffron shawls at schools and he has asked the police to keep watch on religious organisations that are trying to undermine the country's unity in this regard.
Speaking to reporters here, he said no one should come to school for practicing their religion, as it is a place where all students should learn together with a feeling of oneness.
The remarks come amid a row over wearing 'hijab' (headscarf) by some students at a government pre-university college at Udupi. In another incident, Muslim girl students of the Kundapur PU college, who reached the institution today wearing the hijab, were stopped at the gate by the principal. They were informed that they are not allowed to wear the headscarf inside the classrooms and asked to remove it before entering. Yesterday, around 100 Hindu students came to classes wearing saffron shawls as a counter to the girls wearing hijabs.
"Schools are the place where children belonging to all religions should learn together and imbibe a feeling that we are not different, and all are children of Bharat Mata," Jnanendra said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, there are places like Churches, Mosques and temples for people to freely practice their religion and offer prayers, while at schools there should be an academic atmosphere for children to develop a culture of national unity integrity.
Calling on everyone to think in this direction, he said, "There are religious organisations who think otherwise, I have asked police to keep a watch on them. Those who cause hindrance or undermine this country's unity, they have to be dealt with," he said.
Responding to a question about Hindu students wearing saffron shawls as a retaliatory measure for hijab and creating an atmosphere of conflict, Jnanendra said, no one should come to school for practicing their religion.
"Everyone should come there to learn as the children of Bharat Mata. No one should wear either hijab or saffron shawl in the school premises, they should mandatorily follow the rules set by school management committees," he added.
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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.
