BJP Running Court: Jharkhand Congress MLA Irfan Ansari On Karnataka HC Verdict On Hijab

Frowning upon the Karnataka High Court's decision to uphold the ban on hijab in educational institutions in the state, Congress legislator from Jharkhand Irfan Ansari once again courted controversy on Tuesday by alleging BJP is running courts which is not a good tradition.

Ansari, who is a former working president of the party's state unit, had courted controversy earlier by praising Taliban for “having done a good job by forcing the USA to leave Afghanistan”, prompting a backlash from the saffron party.

'I won't say anything on the court verdict ...BJP is running courts...This is not a good tradition,' Ansari told mediapersons here.

Holding that hijab was not part of the 'essential religious practice' in Islamic faith, the Karnataka High Court today upheld the state government's ban on wearing the headscarf in educational institutions triggering protests by Muslim girl students and also a tense hijab-versus-saffron scarf row.

Ansari last year had courted controversy by allegedly supporting Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.

Speaking to media persons in September Ansari, a two-term MLA from Jamtara had said, “They (Taliban) should be lauded, as they chased the Americans out of Afghanistan. We all know the kind of excesses the American forces used to commit in Afghanistan.”

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) had then hit back at Ansari, saying his remark showed the “Talibani mindset of the Congress.”

“He is speaking this language because the Congress party itself has a Talibani mindset. He is supporting a terrorist organisation that is known for cruelty against women and minorities. Several of our mothers and sisters and others are fleeing Afghanistan because of fear. Does Ansari want to see similar things happening here?” BJP's chief whip in the sate assembly Biranchi Narayan had said then.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without any modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)