Reacting to the hijab controversy in Karnataka, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Wednesday that only education should be the focus of schools and colleges.
If there is a prescribed uniform in schools or colleges, it should be followed, the minister said. "Only education should be the focus at centers of education. Religious or political issues should not be brought to schools and colleges," news agency ANI quoted Thackeray as saying.
Several places in Karnataka has been witnessing violent protests over the issue of Muslim girls wearing hijab to educational institutions.
The issue also appears to have made its ripples in Maharashtra as activists of Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) put up banners in Beed city in support of the right of Muslim students to wear hijab and said the Indian Constitution gives the right to citizens to follow their religious culture.
The banners, with the message 'pehle hijab fir kitaab' (hijab first, book later), were displayed on Monday in Bashirganj and Karanja areas of Beed, and were removed on Tuesday,
Luqman Farooqui, a member of the AIMIM students' wing in Beed, said the Indian Constitution gives the right to every person to follow his/her religious culture, and those opposing the 'hijab' should read the Constitution. "Hence, to convey this message, we had put up banners in support of the 'hijab' in Beed for one day," he said.
—With PTI inputs
