The Karnataka government has not given any order to end the ban on wearing the hijab in educational institutions, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday, a day after media reports claimed the hijab ban has been removed.

The ban by the previous BJP government on wearing the hijab had triggered protests.

At an event in Mysuru yesterday, Siddaramaiah had said women can wear the hijab if they want. The comment led to speculation that the Chief Minister had ordered to scrap the ban.

However, Siddaramaiah told reporters today the Karnataka government has not formally issued any order to allow wearing the hijab in educational institutions.

“We have not done it yet (allowing hijab). One person asked me a question, and I replied to that. Yes, the government is considering to end the ban. But the matter will be discussed with government officers first,” Siddaramaiah told reporters today.

The plan to end the hijab ban was already on the Congress’s agenda before the election in May this year, when the party defeated the BJP under former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

While Siddaramaiah has attacked the BJP over allegedly dividing people based on what they wear and caste, the BJP has called the Congress’s policy “appeasement politics”.

In the hijab case, the Supreme Court had delivered a split verdict on whether the government has the authority to make rules on what to wear. The court had said it would consider setting up a three-judge bench to take the matter forward.

“When the matter is pending in the Supreme Court, the Chief Minister does not even take that into consideration and decides to please the minorities, while eyeing the Lok Sabha election,” Mr Bommai said.

The Hijab row began in December 2021 when six girls in Udupi’s Government PU College were denied permission to wear the scarf in classrooms. It has now become another political issue ahead of the 2024 general election.

With the Assembly polls behind them, both of India’s biggest political parties have turned their focus to the all-important Lok Sabha elections, which are due in less than four months. This was borne out by two key meetings held by the BJP and the Congress on Saturday, which also reflected the very different positions the parties find themselves in.

While the two-day BJP meeting of national office-bearers, which ended on Saturday, saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorting workers to gear up for the campaign and the party setting a target of getting 35 crore votes in the 2024 elections, the Congress meeting was focused on working out seat-sharing with allies from the INDIA bloc, which was formed to take on the ruling party.

‘Mission Mode’

During the BJP meeting of national office bearers and state presidents, which began on Friday, PM Modi asked workers and prepare for the Lok Sabha elections in mission mode. Sources said the Prime Minister also set the party a target of winning 35 crore votes in the 2024 elections, against the 22.9 crore it managed to get in 2019.

The BJP meet, according to the sources, also focused on the Ram Temple consecration on January 22. It was decided that workers would be asked to give out as much information on the Ram Temple as possible on social media platforms and hold discussions on it. They will also be instructed to arrange for live telecast of the consecration ceremony in their respective areas on January 22 and organise visits to Ayodhya after the consecration for people from every state. 

“To achieve the increase in votes, a strategy was formulated to reach 7 crore beneficiaries of various government schemes,” a source said. 

PM Modi will address the youth across the country in January and it has been decided to run a campaign to connect with women, youth, farmers and the poor. 

Workers will also be asked to stay in touch with every voter at the booth level and visit their homes and meet them. One of the key issues they have been asked to discuss is India’s growing power on the global stage, the sources said.

Alliance Panel Meet

The National Alliance Committee of the Congress held its first meeting on Saturday. The five-member panel was formed earlier this week to discuss seat-sharing and alliances with other political parties from the INDIA bloc for the 2024 elections. Mukul Wasnik is the convenor and the other members are Union minister Salman Khurshid, former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, and Mohan Prakash.

After the meeting, Mr Wasnik said, “We will first speak to the state units. We will decide on a  seat-sharing formula soon. There is no deadline set for this. But we will decide as soon as possible,” he said.

The Congress has been criticised by some INDIA allies after its defeats in the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections, who have also said that the party should be more accommodating in seat-sharing conversations. 

Sachin Pilot has been appointed Congress General Secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh today as the party continues its organisational overhaul with an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been replaced as the party’s Uttar Pradesh in charge.

She continues to be the party’s General Secretary “without any assigned portfolio”, the party said in a statement. Avinash Pandey has replaced her in the state.

Sachin Pilot’s appointment is being seen as a move to pacify the leader, who has been seeking a greater role in the party. Mr Pilot’s dissatisfaction with the party’s Rajasthan leadership almost cost Congress the desert state mid-term in 2020, when the disgruntled leader, then the Deputy Chief Minister, led a coup against Ashok Gehlot.

After days of stalemate during which Mr Pilot moved to a resort in Haryana with his loyal MLAs, the Congress leadership managed to placate him. Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka assured Mr Pilot his grievances will be addressed.

As the Congress somehow managed to hold onto power in Rajasthan, the rift between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot widened. Despite the party’s efforts to put up a united front, it failed to retain Rajasthan this year.

The party, following an abysmal show in three heartland states, retained the chiefs of Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh. However, in Madhya Pradesh, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath was replaced as the Congress’ state unit chief with OBC leader Jitu Patwari.

In addition, Mukul Wasnik has been assigned Gujarat, Jitendra Singh Assam with the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh, Randeep Surjewala Karnataka, Kumari Selja Uttarakhand, while Deepa Dasmunshi got Kerala, Lakshadweep, and the additional charge of Telangana.

In Bihar, the party has appointed Mohan Prakash as the state in-charge. Mr Prakash has close ties with both Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar. He is a socialist who has been a part of Janata Dal.

The appointments come two days after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body, chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. It was attended by senior leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.