BENGALURU: Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara has said that wearing a hijab is not new, but BJP leaders have turned it into a controversy. “We are not telling people to wear it, but we are saying that those who choose to wear it should not be harassed. It is their belief,” he told reporters in Bengaluru on Friday.
On BJP leaders questioning the government for not permitting saffron shawls in educational institutions but allowing hijabs to appease one community, the minister said,
“When they were in power, did they not bring policies that suited them?”
Furthermore, Dr Parameshwara stated that the government is concerned about law and order and does not want anything that can instigate people and harm the harmony of society. When further asked about the saffron shawl row, he said, “Let them (BJP) criticise. This is the government’s decision,” he said.