Hijab row: Way principal treated kids is an issue, says K’taka Edu Minister on withholding award

Bengaluru, Sep 5 (IANS) Commenting on withholding for now the ‘Best Principal Award’ to the Kundapur Government Pre-University College principal for making girl students wearing hijab stand in the Sun, Karnataka Minister for Education Madhu Bangarappa stated on Thursday that the way the principal treated the children was the issue. Following a social media campaign against BG Ramakrishna, the principal of Government Pre-University College in Udupi district, the Karnataka government withheld the award till further notice.Ramakrishna had courted controversy by allegedly asking Muslim girl students wearing hijab to stand in the Sun outside the classroom for months in 2021, at the height of the hijab row in the state.The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had slammed the state government for announcing an award for Ramakrishna and ran a campaign against him.Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday, Minister Bangarappa, while answering a question by the media that the principal was just carrying out government orders, said, “The way he treated the children is the issue, that’s all. If there is no problem, we will take a call. If he was following any government order, it had to be carried out in a certain manner. If it is not in a certain manner, then it will be questioned. So let me check the details. The department will check. It is not me who will take the call, the committee will make a decision in this regard.”When asked whether the government was practicing vindictive