Hitting out at the media for allegedly distorting his observations, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he had always respected seers of the Hindu community.
“I have never shown any disrespect to the swamijis. I have not done it in the past nor will I do it in future. Haven’t I gone to the mutts? I go to different mutts to meet the swamijis and speak to them with respect,” he said while reacting angrily to the “twisted” reportage in a section of the media about his observations on Muslim girls covering their heads.
“There are no instances of me having behaved disrespectfully with the seers. My relationship with them has been good,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said while expressing his disappointment with the media for asking questions and making a controversy out of them.
Clarifying that he had not made any reference to hijab, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he had urged the government to make a provision for the Muslim girls to wear a “dupatta” that syncs with the uniform while appearing for the examination.
“A dupatta is different from hijab or burkha,” he said while appearing to lose his cool with the reporters.
Pointing out that he had already made a suggestion in the regard in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Siddaramaiah said Muslim girls, who were attending classes in minority institutions with hijab, may have to face issues if they appear for the examination in different centres. Hence, he said he had suggested to the Government to permit them to wear a dupatta of the same colour as their uniform.
He said the Government should make such a provision to ensure that girl students are not denied education. The suggestion had already been made to Minister for Higher Education Ashwath Narayan and Minister for Primary and Secondary Education B.C. Nagesh in the State legislature. “If the children’s future is lost, it is the Government that should be held accountable,” he said.
With regard to a question on the possibility of early elections in the State, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he did not foresee such a possibility.
