Indian politician calls for burqa ban claiming ‘terrorists’ use them to hide from police

The state of Uttar Pradesh’s labor minister Raghuraj Singh has called for an outright ban on women wearing burqas, suggesting that terrorists have been using them to elude authorities.

In an apparent reference to the recent violent protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which have swept India, Singh claimed that criminals and “terrorists” were using the burqa to conceal their identities. 

The poitician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party called for India to ban the Muslim veil, citing the example of Sri Lanka, which banned the headscarf after the Easter Sunday bombings which killed 259 people and injured many more. He added that it was the custom in Arab countries, but not in India which is predominantly Hindu.

When confronted by Indian media about his controversial statement, Singh doubled down, saying: "I have no remorse on what I said."

This is not the first time that Singh has courted controversy: He previously claimed in January that anyone protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath would be “buried alive.” He also stated that anti-nationalists will "die a dog's death."

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!