Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP veteran Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the hijab controversy was unfortunate and appealed to the people of Maharashtra to make efforts to avoid any communal tension on this issue in the state. He noted that India is a secular country and such incidents should be avoided which can further divide society.
"It’s unfortunate that some people are trying to gain political mileage out of it. Indian culture and Constitution don't teach us to divide people on caste & religious lines," said Pawar.
Pawar said it was unfortunate that some people were trying to gain political mileage. ‘’However, the Indian culture and Constitution do not teach us to divide people on caste and religious lines,’’ he noted.
Pawar’s statement came hours after NCP's Pune city unit held a demonstration in support of 'hijab' for female Muslim students. Further, DCM’s comment came a day after the party MP Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha claimed that the ruling BJP in Karnataka wanted to decide what everyone must wear or eat and if anyone protested they would be called anti-national.
On the other hand, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said that it is not right to disturb the law and order in the state on the issues that happened in Karnataka. He appealed to the people to not stage “unnecessary protests” on such matters in Maharashtra and maintain peace. "I appeal to people to not stage unnecessary protests on such issues. The incident has happened in some other state, we should not protest over it here. I appeal to people to maintain peace,’’ he added.
