Attempts being made to inject communal venom in children’s minds: Kerala CM on Hijab row

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday condemned the row over Muslim girls’ rights to wear the hijab in educational institutions and said attempts are being made to inject communal venom in the minds of children.

He was responding to a question on the hijab controversy in Karnataka and alleged social media campaign against Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on the way he offered his last respects to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar. ”Our educational institutions should become a fertile ground for secularism. Instead, efforts are on to inject communal venom in the minds of the children. It is very dangerous,” the Chief Minister told reporters here.

Vijayan said the communal attack against Khan was a serious issue and urged people to take steps to protect secularism in the country.

He said Khan paid respectful homage to late Mangeshkar and it was not done secretly.

The hijab controversy, which first erupted in January at a government PU College in Udupi where six students who attended classes wearing headscarf in violation of the stipulated dress code were asked to leave the campus, has spread to different parts of Karnataka with Hindu students too responding by turning up in saffron shawls. Such saffron-clad students are also being barred from entering classes.