Don’t tolerate; arrest hijab protesters in colleges: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

Bengaluru, Feb 18: Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Friday urged the Karnataka government not to hesitate to arrest people who come to schools and colleges to make girl students wear hijab in classrooms.

"Some persons are ill-intentionally not allowing the hijab row to end. Not following the court order is too much and it cannot be tolerated," he said.

The government should take strict action wherever the court order is not followed. Only students and staff should be allowed inside the premises of schools and colleges. Some "goondas" and others creating chaos in front of schools and colleges should not be tolerated, he noted.

In reply to the Congress's protest in the Session of the State Legislature over minister K S Eshwarappa's statement, Joshi opined that staging protest is the only work for the Congress now,. He prayed to the Almighty to keep them in the same situation for next five to ten years.

People have several problems and the Opposition has the opportunity in the Session to give constructive suggestions in this regard. But, they are protesting over a non-issue just for their vote bank politics, he charged.

When asked about the possibility of Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti joining the BJP for contesting in forthcoming MLC elections, Joshi said, it is irrelevant and that the BJP would field its candidate. A list in this regard has already been sent to the party's central leadership, he added.