Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that both sindhoor and hijab should not be forcibly prohibited since they were part of belief and culture, which would not cause inconvenience to anyone.
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“Following ancient culture and belief does not create problem to anyone. While people had been wearing hijab for a long time, people were not wearing saffron shawl. It shows the narrow mentality of people who are wearing saffron shawl just to oppose hijab,” he told reporters here. He said that the saffron shawl should not be used in an uncivilised manner of inhuman causes.
The former Chief Minister said that if the BJP members had fought for freedom movement holding the tricolour, they would have known the value of the national flag and national emblem. “We posed the question of who is important – whether the national flag or Minister K.S. Eshwarappa. The BJP is adamant by stating that the Minister was important. Insulting the national flag or national emblem is anti-national and violation of law,” he added.
Stating that insult to the national flag is a serious issue, he said that lakhs of people have sacrificed their lives for independence, and that the BJP cannot understand these sacrifices. “If the BJP is asking us to forego the insult to the flag, we are not ready to accept it. We will fight both within and outside the legislature,” he said.