The Swaraj India party, on Wednesday, claimed that the Karnataka High Court verdict in the hijab case may lead to further alienation of Muslim community.
"The verdict will contribute to greater discrimination against Muslims and be used by communal Sangh Parivar forces to disintegrate the unity in diversity in the name of Hindu Rashtra," said a press statement issued by the party, which also expressed concern over the verdict forcing the Muslim girls to drop out of school.
"The court order sanctifying the school uniform over education of girls will force many minority-community girls to chose between education and hijab, nullifying the purpose and spirit of freedom sanctioned by the Indian Constitution," noted the statement.
The Bengaluru Urban unit of Swaraj India which urged the Supreme Court to stay the High Court order, said, "We disagree with the HC order which is a step backwards. A harmless tradition which was in vogue till recently, is being politicised. It is up to the women to decide what they can wear instead of the courts dictating to them," said Veena S., president of the Bengaluru unit of the party.
Gulab Pasha, a member said, "We respectfully disagree with the ruling as it deters Muslim girls, who are among the least educated in India, from accessing education. The ruling also misconstrues and misapplies a range of Constitutional principles and for those reasons the judgment ought to be overturned on appeal."
