The controversial prohibition on the head covering in the state’s educational institutions was brought up by CPI(M) lawmaker John Brittas in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. He claimed that over one lakh Muslim women students in Karnataka dropped out of government colleges as a result.

He was taking part in a discussion over a private member’s resolution put forth by Abdul Wahab of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which called for the government to follow the advice of the Sachar Committee report.

Brittas lamented the lack of precision in Wahab’s resolution while mentioning incidents against Muslims. 

In reference to the Karnataka hijab controversy, he said that more than one lakh Muslim girls left government colleges in Karnataka alone as a result of the incident.

According to Brittas, there are significantly less Muslim girls enrolled in educational institutions than there should be.

Brittas claimed that the Karnataka government refused to permit the hijab in order to maintain a secular dress code for college students in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on the subject.