"Only For Political Gains": Basavaraj Bommai Slams Siddaramaiah Amid Hijab Row

As the hijab controversy flares up in Karnataka, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accused current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of hiding the failures of his government as well as raising the issue for only political gains.

He told reporters here on Saturday that the Hijab was not banned all over the state but not allowed where there was a dress code. Muslim women are permitted to wear the hijab everywhere.

"When the Hijab is not banned where is the question of lifting the ban," he questioned.

"As per the comprehensive education policy, the school uniform policy came into being but it was brought into effect by the previous government. Siddaramaiah has spoken about the withdrawal of the Hijab ban order when the case was still pending in the Supreme Court. The issue has been raised only for political gains which would be condemned in the strongest words," Mr Bommai said.

Sparking a series of discussions, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in a public meeting that his government will lift the ban on hijab imposed by the previous BJP government in the state.

"We are thinking of withdrawing the decision (of hijab ban). We will discuss it. I have said this in response to a question. We have not done it yet," the Chief Minister added.

Siddaramaiah said in his speech that no politics should be done on what people prefer to wear and eat.

"There was a drought in the state, and the women didn't have protection. The government was so bankrupt that it had stopped making the children clean toilets. To cover up all these failures, the Congress leaders were making such statements to mislead people. They did the same thing when the IT raid on a contractor yielded crores of rupees. The incumbent government was not at all interested in development. The government has a sinister design of creating a rift among the kids," he added.

Mr Bommai said the Hijab issue was being discussed at the international level and the women in Iran and Iraq have launched a struggle seeking freedom against the Hijab. What was the need for the chief minister to make a statement on the row when the top court was seized of the matter?

"I am confident that the court will take note of the same," he asserted.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)