Congress Revives Hijab Row: BJP's R Ashok Calls It Vote Grab

In a blistering critique, Karnataka's opposition leader R Ashok on Wednesday tore into the Congress regime for resurrecting the hijab controversy. The government's rollback of the 2022 uniform mandate, now allowing select religious attire in classrooms, has been branded as a cynical bid to placate disgruntled minorities. Speaking from Bengaluru, Ashok linked the timing directly to the stinging loss in Davangere bypolls and brewing minority unrest. 'Frightened by electoral setbacks, they're playing the appeasement card again,' he asserted in his public statement. The BJP veteran highlighted Karnataka's pressing woes—inflation soaring, corruption festering, farmers in despair, and law enforcement in tatters. 'While the state burns, Congress fiddles with religious symbols to distract,' he said, calling it a diversionary tactic from administrative failures. This isn't about rights, Ashok stressed; it's a 'political sop' to a community showing signs of alienation. He slammed the decision as judicial overreach, referencing the Karnataka High Court's 2022 verdict that prioritized uniform codes to foster discipline and equality in education. 'Courts made it clear: schools are for learning, not religious pageantry,' he noted. By flipping the order, Congress disrespects the judiciary, he added. Ashok spotlighted the hypocrisy of 'pseudo-secularism'—endorsing hijabs as liberty while shunning saffron attire. Echoing concerns over TMC-style politics in West Bengal, he warned of eroding communal peace. 'Sacrificing student futures on the altar of vote banks by politicizing school uniforms is criminal,' he remarked. The fresh directives permit hijabs, pagdis, sacred threads, and rudraksha with standard uniforms, reversing the 2022 policy amid ongoing debates. This episode reveals Congress's reliance on identity politics, as BJP gears up to counter with accusations of governance neglect. With elections looming, the hijab flare-up could redefine Karnataka's political battleground.