Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced that the state government will withdraw the order banning hijab. The Chief Minister said he has directed officials to withdraw the order banning hijab.

“The choice of clothes is one’s own prerogative. I have directed to withdraw the hijab ban. PM Modi’s ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’ is bogus. The BJP is dividing people and society based on clothes, dress, and caste,” the Chief Minister said in a post on X.

“Hijab ban isn’t there anymore. (Women) can wear hijab and go anywhere. I have directed to withdraw the (ban) order. How you dress and what you eat is your choice. Why should I obstruct you?” Siddaramaiah said while addressing a gathering in Mysore. He further said that people in the state were free to wear and eat whatever they chose to. “Wear what you want. Eat what you want. I will eat what I want, you eat what you want. I wear a dhoti, you wear pant shirt. What’s wrong with that?” he added.

In 2022, the BJP government under Chief Minister B Bommai had banned the head covering in educational institutes of the state.