Reacting to the charge of Social Democratic Party of India that Congress is adopting ‘double standards’ on the hijab issue, Congress minority wing has hit back saying it is the SDPI which is providing fodder for the BJP to implement its agenda. Dakshina Kannada Congress minority wing president Shahul Hameed alleged that the SDPI has been covertly supporting the BJP and never wanted to settle the issue. He said the hijab issue, which surfaced in a college (in the coastal Udupi district), could have been resolved locally and the Congress was trying for it in the initial stages. Hameed alleged that Yashpal Suvarna, BJP leader and vice- president of the Udupi government PU college development committee, blew the issue out of proportion without trying to solve it internally. Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and KPCC chief D K Shivakumar had already made clear the stand of the Congress on the hijab issue. ”BJP is nurturing illusions that they can get political mileage out of the current controversy”, he alleged.
