BC Nagesh, the Karnataka state Minister for School Education, said that the government welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on hijab ban in classrooms. In a split verdict given on Thursday, October 13, Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia disagreed on whether the hijab must be banned in classrooms. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia disapproved of the ban, but Justice Hemant Gupta backed the Karnataka High Court's ruling in favour of the Karnataka government's decision to ban Muslim students from wearing the hijab in classrooms. A larger bench in the Supreme Court will now hear the matter.
“We had expected a better judgement as women worldwide are demanding to not wear hijab/burqa. Karnataka HC order remains applicable in the interim; the ban on wearing of hijab in classrooms across educational institutions of the state remains.” On being asked about organisations supporting the wearing of hijab in educational institutions, the Minister said, "They will always want to split this society. They are using hijab to split the society."
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also commented on the verdict and said that the issue is not just confined to Karnataka, but extends to all of India. “I have not yet read the judgement and will be able to comment only after I have read it. For now, we have to wait for the final verdict by the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, opposition leader and former Congress Member of Parliament, BK Hariprasad said that the ban was a conspiracy by the state government to rob underprivileged children from a minority community of education. “The basic rights that we have been given by the Constitution such as freedom of religion should be protected. After the hijab ban, 17,000 first-generation students are out of schools. The aim of the government to push minority girls away from education was achieved through this ban. Let’s see what the Supreme Court has to say in the coming days.”
Following the verdict, Superintendent of Police for Udupi, Akshay Hakay said that precautionary measures like police picketing in important areas and continued patrolling will be implemented. He also said that a close watch is being kept on social media to make sure no attempts are made to create a law and order situation.