K’taka hijab row: Beti bachao beti parhao is yet another hollow slogan, says Mufti

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on Thursday hit out at a college administration in Karnataka for denying entry to Muslim girls who were wearing hijab.

Mehbooba also hit out at the Centre saying its slogan for educating girl child was ”hollow” as Muslim girls were denied education for wearing hijab.

”Beti bachao beti parhao is yet another hollow slogan. Muslim girls are being denied the right to education simply because of their attire. Legitimising the marginalisation of Muslims is one more step towards converting Gandhi’s India into Godhse’s India,” she tweeted.

Taking a dig at the dress code diktat against Muslim girl students, Abdullah posted pictures of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, veteran BJP leader Uma Bharti and Lok Sabha member from Bhopal Pragya Thakur wearing saffron robes alongside the picture of Muslim students wearing hijab.

”Individuals are free to choose what to wear. You may or may not like their choice but that’s a right we all have. If these public representatives can wear saffron robes, then these girls can use hijab. Muslims are not second class citizens,” he wrote on Twitter.

The two leaders were reacting to media reports about a college at Kundapora in Karnataka denying entry to Muslim girl students who were wearing hijab.

The reports also claimed that hooligans claiming affiliation with some right-wing group had visited the college, objecting to the attire of Muslim girl students.