Maharashtra: Nitesh Rane demands ban on burqa in board exams, writes to state Education Minister

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 29 (ANI): Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane wrote a letter to state Education Minister Dada Bhuse on Wednesday, requesting a ban on wearing burqas at examination centres for the 10th and 12th board exams, citing concerns about potential cheating incidents.

Advocating for uniformity in rules for Hindu and Muslim students, he stated that the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, which follows the Hindutva ideology, will not tolerate the politics of appeasement. He added that those who wish to wear the hijab or burqa can do so at home, but not at examination centres.
"Our government, which follows Hindutva ideology, will not tolerate the politics of appeasement. The rules that are applicable to Hindu students, the same should apply to Muslim students as well. Those who want to wear a burqa or hijab can wear it at their homes but at the examination centres, they should write their exams like other students," Rane, who is the Minister for Fisheries and Ports in Maharashtra government, told ANI.
The minister explained that he wrote the letter to Bhuse due to incidents of cheating and copying during exams involving students wearing burqas.
"There have been incidents of cheating and copying, where students were wearing a burqa. All this should not happen in Maharashtra, so I have written a letter to the concerned minister," Rane said.
When asked to react to the opposition and Muslim scholars objecting to the same, he said, "They should go to Pakistan if they want to take exams while wearing a burqa since we have a constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar, not the Sharia law." (ANI)