New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday said that the split Supreme Court verdict over the Karnataka Hijab ban showed that the issue would keep inviting the top court’s attention while the party would keep seeking answers from PM Modi on alleged social divisions. “The Supreme Court’s split verdict on the Hijab case means that the matter will continue to attract the attention of the top court.
Meanwhile, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will continue to seek accountability from the Prime Minister over growing economic disparities, social polarization and political dictatorship,” Congress communications in charge Jairam Ramesh tweeted shortly after the split verdict. The case had reached the top court after the Karnataka high court upheld the Hijab ban announced by the state government.
The SC order means that the ban remains for now. Interestingly, the top court’s order has come at a time when the Congress’ nationwide Bharat Jodo Yatra is passing through Karnataka. Over the past year, the Congress had been questioning the Hijab ban in the southern state saying it was a ploy to disrupt education of Muslim girls “They have been raising the Hijab, Halal meat and Eidgah issues to divide people.
But we are prepared and we will fight their agenda,” said AICC general secretary HK Patil. “They will disturb social harmony…we will restore it. They divide people in states for political gains,” said AICC in charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala. The Congress has been staging a show of strength through the yatra ahead of the assembly polls in the state next year.
It is banking its campaign on the alleged corruption scandals against the state government and the socially divisive steps of the ruling BJP, saying such incidents dented the image of the state as an IT hub. Over the past 12 days, since the yatra entered Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi has been regularly targeting the Bommai government over alleged corruption and divisive politics.
“A BJP MP has said that the post of Chief Minister of Karnataka can be bought for Rs. 2,500 crores. Why did Santhosh Patil commit suicide? Why was Yediyurappa Ji forced to resign? Why did Eshwarappa resign? Why are BJP MLAs themselves calling the government the most corrupt government? Why did the association of contractors write to the Prime Minister of India and why did the Prime Minister of India not respond to them, because the Karnataka government steals from your pocket every single day.
Police Inspector’s post is sold for Rs. 80 lakhs. There is a scam in engineering posts and at the same time 2.5 lakh government jobs are lying vacant,” Rahul said while addressing a gathering at Chitradurga on Wednesday evening. “Now imagine, if you are walking in this yatra, and 40 percent of your money was stolen. Imagine that you are walking in this yatra and suddenly everybody started beating everybody else.
Imagine, one community suddenly turned around and started beating up the other community. Imagine, if somebody in this yatra suddenly said- nobody is allowed to speak Kannada. Would this yatra be able to achieve anything? That is the type of India that BJP wants to build- an angry and hateful India. I have read many times, some of their leaders saying that women get raped because of, how they dress. This is an insult to every single woman in this country and these are some of the ideas that this yatra is trying to fight,” he said.
