Hijab row: Udupi BJP MLA says he gets threat calls

Udupi: Udupi BJP MLA K Raghupathi Bhat has said he has been receiving threat calls from unidentified persons after the hijab issue turned into a major controversy.

Bhat, who is the president of the development committee of the pre-university college for women in Udupi where the hijab issue originated in Karnataka, told reporters in Udupi on Friday that most of the calls received by him were internet calls from foreign countries.

The BJP MLA said the callers are issuing threats to his life which are not new to him. They have been warning that he will be targeted if he asserts himself more on the hijab issue.

Bhat said he also received several calls from local numbers and has informed about the development to state Home Minister Araga Jnanendra. The legislator said he has faced many such threats in the past also and is not scared of this development.

He claimed that Muslims in Udupi are with him and the Qazis in the district have extended their support to him on the issue.

Bhat reiterated that the six girl students at the Udupi PU College in Udupi who insist on wearing hijabs in the classroom were misguided by some elements.

To all the threats received through the phone, WhatsApp, and Facebook, he has responded by discussing only the issue of uniform and discipline in the college, the MLA said.