Almost one year before the Karnataka Assembly elections, the hijab row was triggered by the ruling establishment (BJP government) banning the hijab in the state's education institutes. Now, since the government is changed in Karnataka and Congress came to power, several sections are demanding the removal of the ban. Now as per a report in latestly, the newly formed Congress govt, in Karnataka is all set to remove the ban on hijab. The govt is just waiting for the cabinet expansion and is likely to make a formal announcement soon. State minister Dr G Parameshwara on Wednesday responded to Amnesty India's demand to lift the Hijab ban in educational institutions in Karnataka by stating the government will look into the issue in future.
He indicated that the priority of the Congress' government is to fulfil the five poll promises. "We will see in future what best we can do. Right now, we have to fulfil the five guarantees we made to the people of Karnataka," ANI quoted Parameshwara in a tweet. A controversy broke out last year after a government college in Udupi refused to allow Muslim girls to write exams wearing Hijab. The incident sparked protests by Muslim organizations and civil rights activists, who accused the college of violating the girl's right to freedom of religion and expression. In October last year, the SC delivered a split verdict on the ban on wearing hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka - one judge affirmed that the state government is authorised to enforce uniform in schools, while the other called the hijab a matter of choice that cannot be stifled by the state.It has to be noted that KPCC Chief and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, during the poll campaign, had stated that the ban on hijab and all laws made on the communal basis by the previous BJP government would be withdrawn after Congress comes to power.