Kerala school hijab row: 'Orchestrated situation' says BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar, dispute set to end

Amid a row over the demand for a student to be allowed to wear the hijab at Kerala school, state BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday condemned the controversy, calling it “a very distressing situation" and alleging political manipulation.

“The politics of Kerala is reaching a level where on one hand, the Congress party talks about the Constitution and then gets in coalition with Jamaat-e-Islami, which often questions the Constitution," Chandrasekhar said while speaking to CNN-News18.

Speaking further on hijab row, Chandrasekhar said, “This is 100 per cent orchestrated. This is testing the political culture and societal makeup of Kerala. This is political posturing and backed by Congress and forced embedded."

What is the hijab row?

A controversy erupted at a private school run by a Christian management in Kochi’s Palluruthy, following an escalation of a dispute with the parents of an eighth-standard student who was denied entry last week over her wearing a hijab.

Authorities at St Rita's Public School in Palluruthy reportedly said the hijab violated its 'dress code' and the girl was made to remove it.

The school's reprimand triggered a fight with the parents, and then the Parent-Teacher Association also got involved. PTA President, Joshi Kaithavalappil, told NDTV a young girl in a hijab marked the start of a "planned attack on a Christian-managed educational institution".

The PTA chief also claimed the parents were backed by the Social Democratic Party of India, a political party seen as pro-Islamic and linked to the now-banned Popular Front of India.

School seeks police protection

As the row escalated, the school - which said in a letter to other parents that it acted to ensure equality of dress for all students - approached the Kerala High Court for police protection. The school also announced a two-day holiday - i.e., on October 13 and 14.

Dispute set to end

The hijab row, however, now appears to be headed for resolution. Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said on Tuesday that the girl’s father had expressed willingness to let his daughter continue studying at the school in accordance with its rules.

"The child’s father, Anas, has come forward expressing his desire to continue his daughter’s education at the same school in accordance with the institution’s rules," Eden said, PTI reported.