Karnataka BJP tweets details of girls who filed petitions against hijab ban
The Karnataka unit of the BJP on Tuesday shared on Twitter the personal details of some Muslim girl students who had filed petitions against the restrictions on hijab in educational institutions.
The tweet was deleted within minutes, as it received severe criticism and it was pointed out that some of the petitioners were minors.
The caption that accompanied the screenshot of personal details of the students, read: “Five of the students involved in #HijabRow are minors. Don’t Congress leaders Sonia, Rahul & Priyanka have any guilt for using minor girls to stay relevant in politics? How low will they stoop to win elections? Is this what “Ladki hoo lad sakti hoon” (I’m a girl, I can fight) means, @priyankagandhi?”
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi reacted immediately, calling the tweet “insensitive”. “Shameless @BJP4Karnataka tweets the addresses of the minor girls in order to attack the opposition. Do you realise how insensitive, sick and pathetic this is? I request @DgpKarnataka and @TwitterIndia to take action and take down the tweet. Also seek @GoI_MeitY intervention (sic),” she tweeted.
Shameless @BJP4Karnataka tweets the addresses of the minor girls in order to attack the opposition. Do you’ll realise how insensitive, sick and pathetic this is? I request @DgpKarnataka and @TwitterIndia to take action and take down the tweet. Also seek @GoI_MeitY intervention.
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) February 15, 2022
The Rajya Sabha MP, who is also part of the Parliamentary Commission of Women Empowerment, demanded that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights take up the issue immediately.
“This is a criminal act to share names and addresses of minors. This is unacceptable,” Chaturvedi said in another tweet.
The controversy over hijab in Karnataka started last month when a few students at a PU College in Udupi refused to remove their headscarves in class despite being asked to do so by teachers. Other students started coming to school in saffron scarves in retaliation and the issue escalated and spread to a number of other instiutions too.
Also read: Hijab row: Karnataka govt to crack down on religious outfits disturbing peace
The matter is now being heard by the Karnataka High Court.
The pre-university colleges will open tomorrow along with other colleges of higher studies, after almost a week of closure.
In a similar case, the details of some Muslim girl students protesting for their right to wear hijab in pre-university college in Udupi were shared on social media.
@NCWIndia has taken cognisance of the incident. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to @DGPKarnataka to look into the matter & file FIR against the culprits. NCW has also sought a time-bound investigation. Action taken must be communicated within 7 days.https://t.co/XDyw7fM46m
— NCW (@NCWIndia) February 11, 2022
Parents of six Muslim women students had lodged a complaint with the police that the personal details of their children were being shared by some people on social media.
Also read: Student asked to remove hijab refuses to write exam; hearing adjourned again
The parents, who submitted a complaint to the Udupi district Superintendent of Police N. Vishnuvardhan, sought action against those sharing the details of the girls, including their mobile numbers, in public domain. The parents have expressed fear that the details might be used to threaten the girls.
