'Inshallah, Hijab-wearing Muslim girl will become India's Prime Minister': Asaduddin Owaisi on row over Rishi Sunak's UK win

Vijayapura: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi wished a hijab-wearing girl will become India's prime minister in future.

"Inshallah, a hijab-wearing girl will become the PM of India in my lifetime or after my life," he told reporters here.

He made this remark when he was asked to comment on the controversy surrounding India-origin Rishi Sunak becoming Britain's prime minister.

The controversy erupted after Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor who hoped India will follow Sunak's example of electing a person from minorities to the top post.

"First Kamala Harris, now Rishi Sunak. The people of the US and the UK have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in government," Chidambaram said on Twitter. "I think there is a lesson to be learned by India and the parties that practise majoritarianism," he added.

On October 13, a two-judge Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia, delivered a split verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict, refusing to lift the ban on hijab in educational institutions of the state.

Justice Gupta dismissed the appeals against the HC order, while Justice Dhulia allowed them.

The Supreme Court said that the pleas be placed before the Chief Justice of India for setting up a larger bench.

On March 15, the high court had rejected the pleas filed by pro-hijab students of the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi seeking permission to wear the hijab inside classrooms.

The HC had ruled that wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islamic faith. (UNI)