Bengaluru

BJPMLA G Janardhan Reddy has endorsed a reported statement by former party leader and MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, calling on students to respond with ‘Jai Sri Ram’ instead of ‘Yes Sir’ when teachers call their names during attendance in classrooms.

The recent statement by Reddy, a former minister, is circulating on social media. “Though he has nothing to do with our party now, Yatnal has said a big thing: that during attendance at schools, when their name is called by the teacher, students should respond by saying Jai Sri Ram instead of Yes Sir. I extend one hundred per cent support to this call,” Reddy said.

Speaking to reporters in Koppal recently, he said, “Whenever I go to any school or college, I will also give a similar call....let the students go wearing saffron shawls and saffron turbans; we are Bharateeyas, it is a matter of Hindutva, our country, our Sanatana Dharma.”

The remarks seem to be a reaction to the government’s decision allowing students to wear hijabs and other faith symbols in schools. The Congress government last week withdrew a 2022 order banning the hijab in classrooms.

It issued an order allowing students to wear limited traditional and faith-based symbols such as Hijab/headscarf, turban, ‘Janeu’ (sacred thread), Shivadhara and Rudraksha along with prescribed uniforms in schools and pre-university colleges across the state.