Bangalore cops ban protests near schools, colleges

Activists demonstrate against the curbs over hijab, in Bengaluru. Pic/AFP

As the row over the use of hijab by students in educational institutes continued to trigger tension across Karnataka, the Bengaluru police on Wednesday banned gatherings and protests near schools and colleges for two weeks.

In Karnataka High Court, the single judge hearing the case related to the Hijab ban in school-college campuses referred the matter to Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi with a view that he may decide on constituting a larger bench to look into it.

Justice Krishna S Dixit maintained that these matters give rise to certain constitutional questions of seminal importance in view of certain aspects of personal law.

"In view of the enormity of questions of importance which were debated, the court is of the considered opinion that the Chief Justice should decide if a larger bench can be constituted in the subject matter," Justice Dixit said.

The bench was also of the view that the interim prayers should also be placed before a larger bench that may be constituted by Chief Justice Awasthi exercising his discretion.

Meanwhile, in Parliament, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said some people are giving "communal colour" to a decision on dress code and discipline of institutions as part of their "conspiracy to defame India's inclusive culture".

With Pakistani ministers Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chaudhary Fawad Hussain wading into the hijab row, criticising India over the issue, Naqvi also shot back saying Pakistan, which is a "jungle of crime and cruelty" for minorities, is preaching India on tolerance and secularism.

Priyanka Gandhi

Priyanka: Bikini or ‘ghoonghat', it's woman's choice

Be it a bikini, a ‘ghoonghat', a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman's right to decide what she wants to wear, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Wednesday amid the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka. "Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman's right to decide what she wants to wear," tweeted the Conress leader.

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