Mumbai, February 10 (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday termed the raging controversy on `hijab' in neighbouring Karnataka as "unfortunate", and said that governments and political parties must ensure that society is not divided.
Speaking to reporters here, Pawar, without naming any party, said unfortunately some people" were trying to seek political mileage from the controversy.
Everyone must conduct themselves sensibly and follow the Constitution, the senior NCP leader said.
The protests over the hijab issue are unfortunate. In every country and state, it is the responsibility of the rulers, responsible organizations and parties to see to it that there is no divide between communities, Pawar said.
Everyone should ensure that our conduct and actions do not vitiate the atmosphere. We all must take that precaution, he said, urging people to respect each other's religion.
Workers of Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party staged a demonstration in support of the Muslim women's right to wear the hijab or Islamic headscarf in Pune earlier in the day.
Protests for and against the 'hijab' intensified in parts of Karnataka and turned violent in some places earlier this week after the BJP government made uniforms prescribed by it or by private institutions mandatory for students in schools and pre-university colleges.
Meanwhile, Congress workers from Gangapur and Khultabad in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district joined the NCP in the presence of Pawar at the party's headquarters here on Thursday.
Notably, Congress, along with the Shiv Sena, is an ally of the NCP in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition.
When the Congress and NCP were in power (from 1999 to 2014) in Maharashtra, some Congressmen joined the NCP and some people from the NCP joined the Congress. Every party has the right to expand its base, Pawar told reporters.
If the NCP had not inducted these Congress workers from Gangapur and Khultabad, they would have joined some other party, he claimed.
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from news agency feeds and has not been edited by The Morung Express.
Source: PTI
