"Those opposing burqa should be paraded naked": Ex-SP MLA Zameer Ullah Khan

Reacting to an Uttar Pradesh college incident where students wearing burqa were stopped from entering the premises, former Samajwadi Party MLA Zameer Ullah Khan has said that "those who oppose burqa should be paraded naked to teach them a lesson".

"There should be no ban on the burqa and whoever imposes the ban, first parade them naked. What is this new dress code? Make them roam around naked, then they will know what is to be exposed," said the former Koil lawmaker on the Moradabad's Hindu College incident.

He further said that if it is not a crime to remove burqa, then it is not a crime to go naked.

Following an October 2022 direction on dress code at the college, the authorities on Wednesday stopped several girl students in burqa from entering the premises, leading to widespread protests in the area, in which the SP leaders and workers also joined.

Regarding the ban on the burqa in Moradabad's Hindu College, Khan said that it was absolutely wrong. If girls want to wear a burqa, there should be no ban on it and those who ban it should be paraded around naked.

The former MLA said that the burqa is a culture of India.

"In villages of India, even the voices of sisters and daughters are not heard, they are forced to stay behind veils," he added.

Some students of the Hindu college in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad were denied entry to the college for wearing a burqa despite the prescribed uniform code for the students here.

The girls alleged that their college was not letting them enter the college campus wearing a burqa and were compelling them to remove it at the entrance gate.

A scuffle broke out between the students, the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha workers, and the college professors who remained adamant about sticking to the prescribed rules.

Meanwhile, the college professor, Dr AP Singh said that they had implemented a dress code for the students here and anybody who refuses to follow it will be barred from entering the college campus.

To this, the members of Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha submitted a memorandum to include the burqa in the dress code for college and allow the girls to attend their classes wearing it.

( With inputs from ANI )