New Delhi: Amid the ongoing controversy over the wearing of hijab at educational institutions, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and the National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah have targetted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing it of exploiting the issue.
Farooq Abdullah said that he believes that the image of the country is being scarred due to this controversy and that religion is being attacked over someone's clothing.
BJP will come for other symbols of Muslims: Mufti
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, hitting out at the BJP, said that the saffron party will will come for other symbols of Muslims: "I fear BJP won't stop at Hijab. They will come for other symbols of Muslims and erase all. For Indian Muslims, it is not enough to be an Indian, they have to be BJP as well".
"Jammu and Kashmir is a political matter but they (BJP) want to make it a community matter," she added.
The PDP chief said that the draft recommendations of the Delimitation Commission are an attempt to divide the people of Jammu and Kashmir into sectarian and social grounds.
"The rights and guarantees given by the Indian Constitution are being mutilated and the Delimitation Report that has come recently is part of that. They have tried to divide the people of Jammu and Kashmir on a sectarian level (and) on a social level, so that the people fight with each other. But the PDP's struggle would be against it," said Mufti, as quoted by ANI.
Everyone has the right to wear and eat according to their own choice: Farooq
At the same time, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah indirectly targeted the BJP saying that the country is equal for every one. "Everyone has the right to wear and eat as s/he wishes and is free to practise his/her religious beliefs. There are some radical elements who are attacking a religion in an attempt to win polls by dividing people on communal lines", ANI reported.
Notably, the ongoing row can be traced back to the beginning of January when some students in Udupi and Chikkamagaluru started wearing hijab to schools as a mark of protest after some of them were not allowed to enter the classroom for wearing the headscarves.
The issue then spread across the state as several other schools and colleges issued similar diktats. The opposing groups of students started protesting both for and against the right to wear hijabs in the educational institutes. Those opposing the Muslim girls donned saffron scarves.
The row then escalated further with national political parties joining in to attack each other over the issue. The protests have further gained momentum by spreading to different parts of the nation and the matter is currently in the Karnataka High Court.