With the row over the Sri Kukke Subrahmanya Temple not allowing Muslim girls wearing a burqa into the college run by it threatening to take on a political colour, Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner, N S Chennappa Gowda has now intervened in the matter and asked it to change its mind.
The DC has advised the administration of the Sri Subrahmanyeshwara First Grade College to allow the girls to enter the campus wearing a burqa and remove it in the restroom rather than insisting on them removing it on the roadside outside. Former Zilla Panchayat member and Congress leader, Bharath Mundodi has threatened to stage a protest against the governing body the temple if it refuses to let the girls enter college wearing their burqas.
"Until recently the 15 Muslim girls were permitted to enter college wearing burqas and remove them in the restrooms. But the rule was changed all of a sudden,” he deplored, demanding that the college administration revert to the earlier practice. As he threatened to stage a protest unless the management took a more humane view of the issue, BJP and Sangh Parivar activists rushed to the support of the college. With the row taking on a political hue, the Deputy Commissioner decided to step in and defuse matters. “I have asked the college management to allow the girls to remove their burqas in the restroom rather than outside its gates,” he said, when contacted.