See verdict in context of women empowerment: BJP

The Karnataka High Court said the headscarf is not an essential part of the religious practice in Islam.

Citing the ban on triple talaq, the permission to women to become combative officers in the Army and to fly fighter planes in the Air Force as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives for empowerment of women, Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said “the entire debate over hijab should also be seen in the same context.

With the party coming under criticism over the headgear row, the BJP central leadership had instructed its leaders not to make any public comments and wait for the court order.

In his interviews, however, Home Minister Amit Shah had said he personally believes all religions must adhere to the dress code in schools.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, a Lok Sabha MP from Karnataka, said the verdict should be followed “wholeheartedly”.

The minister also urged political parties to refrain from politicising the issue. But his party colleague and general secretary, C T Ravi saw the judgment as a “direct slap on the face of the Congress and its ecosystem.”

In Gujarat, state education Minister Jitu Vaghani said that religion and education should be kept separate. On whether the order will have any implications in Gujarat, Vaghani said: “There is no question or need for any ban in Gujarat. We have our own rules for school uniforms.”

Earlier in the day, while welcoming the verdict, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister and BJP state spokesperson Narottam Mishra targeted the Congress and accused it of doing “politics of appeasement”. “They don’t believe in the High Court verdict… when they lose elections they don’t trust EVMs… if the Army barges into Pakistan they raise questions on the Army… when Modi ji made vaccines, they doubted it,” he said.