As the Congress high command is wary of the electoral implications of the Karnataka government’s proposal to revoke the hijab ban in classrooms, the Central leaders have apparently suggested to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to go slow on controversial issues till the 2024 general elections.
The debate on the hijab issue gained prominence after Mr. Siddaramaiah announced at a public meeting in Mysuru district last week that his government would lift the ban imposed by the previous BJP government.
Elections to the Lok Sabha are scheduled to be held in April-May. The Congress government’s proposal on revoking the ban order on hijab would dilute the significance of the poll guarantees implemented in the State, it is argued.
Moreover, revoking the ban would provide fresh political ammunition to the Opposition BJP to launch a campaign against the Congress on communal lines. The obvious fear is that such a decision in the State could create a ripple effect on the party’s prospects nationally, sources in the Congress said.
The Congress is likely to focus its electoral campaign on poll guarantees it had implemented targeting largely the poor and women.
‘Unilateral’ announcement
The Chief Minister’s “unilateral” announcement on revoking the hijab ban, a few days after talks with the party’s Central leaders in New Delhi, evidently has not gone well with the other senior leaders in the party.
Though some Ministers backed the Chief Minister, senior leader and Home Minister G. Parameshwara adopted a cautious approach and said that the government will take a decision “after looking into it deeply.” The Congress poll manifesto was silent on the hijab ban.
Sources said that the government is unlikely to take a decision on the matter since it was pending before the Supreme Court. The voters belonging to the minority communities, especially Muslims, backed the party in the Assembly elections and the community is expected to back the party in the Lok Sabha elections as well, more so as the JD(S) has struck an alliance with the BJP, a party functionary said.
Other issues on back burner
Prior to this, importantly, the Congress government backed out from repealing the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022, popularly known as the “anti-conversion law”, which was one of the most controversial laws ushered in during the previous BJP regime. The Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet had discussed the Bill but it has not yet taken any action on tabling it in the legislature.
The government had also not taken any decision on repealing the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, replacing it with the older version of the legislation, which was brought into force by the previous BJP regime.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who held an official celebration of Tipu Jayanthi during his first term, has refrained from celebrations in his second term this year.
The party in its poll manifesto promised to restore 4% quota for the Muslim community which was repealed by the BJP government. So far, no action has been taken on the matter either.
The Siddaramaiah government had decided to roll back the APMC Act passed by the previous government. But the combined BJP and the JD(S) blocked the Bill in the Legislative Council. The Bill has been referred to the House Committee for review.
So far, it has taken the decision to scrap the New Education Policy of the Modi government and formed an expert committee to frame the syllabus.
