Today, it's school, tomorrow, one may demand in security forces: CM Yogi on hijab controversy

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while speaking on the hijab controversy said that personally, he has no objection to anybody wearing whatever dress one wishes, but one cannot force the beliefs of one religion or community on the nation.

Speaking in an exclusive conversation with India TV's Editor-in-Chief and Chairman Rajat Sharma in Gorakhpur on Tuesday, Yogi Adityanath said, "Personally, I have no objection to anybody wearing whatever dress one wishes, both at home or in public. But one cannot force the beliefs of one religion or community on the nation…"

"There has to be one uniform in school. Today, it is a school, but tomorrow, one can demand the same in the force. The courts have already clearly told the government that there cannot be a special dress representing a community in the force. We must accord respect to a feeling of secular status, otherwise, this will adversely affect discipline. There is no need to spread indiscipline,” CM Yogi said.

The controversy over wearing hijab had started when a section of Muslim girls were adamant on wearing headscarves to college, while the state government cracked the whip making uniforms mandatory for students attending classes in educational institutions.

There have been several instances during the last few days, especially in coastal Karnataka, where some Muslim girl students, turning up in hijab, were not being allowed into classes, and Hindu boys responding with saffron shawls, also being barred from classes.

The hijab row took a political colour, as the ruling BJP stood strongly in support of uniform-related rules being enforced by educational institutions, calling the headscarf, a religious symbol, while the opposition Congress has come out in support of protesting Muslim girls.

The issue that initially began in January at a Government PU College in Udupi where six students who attended classes wearing headscarves in violation of the stipulated dress code were sent out, spread to a few other colleges in the city and in nearby Kundapur and Byndoor.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was speaking ahead of the 6th phase of the state assembly election 2022 on March 3. In the upcoming phase, polling will also take place in Gorakhpur. CM Yogi is contesting from Gorakhpur's Sadar seat for the first time in the assembly election.

During the conversation, the Chief Minister said BJP will win more than 80 per cent of seats in the UP elections, and also took taunted the opposition leaders saying many of them have already booked tickets to England, Australia after the results are declared on March 10.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections are being held in 7 phases, polling in 5 of them has already been concluded. The last two remaining phases -- 6th and 7th -- will be held on March 3 and 7.

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