Powertrip: Reasons behind Karnataka government’s hijab trepidation

Welcome to Powertrip, a newsletter exclusively curated for TNM Subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed and Pooja Prasanna. In this issue, we talk about the Tamil Nadu government’s new media plan, why the Congress isn’t keen on revoking the hijab ban in Karnataka and what YS Sharmila wants from the Congress..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only..Karnataka Congress split on revoking hijab banThere was a lot of buzz last week after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that his government would remove the ban of hijab in classrooms. On cue, the BJP and Sangh elements outraged, others hailed Siddaramaiah. But the very next day, Siddaramaiah sounded cautious when he said that ‘the government will look at it’.TNM spoke to many people in the government wondering why nothing has been done from May 2023 when the Congress came to power. This isn’t the government’s priority nor is it part of the manifesto is what most told us. One source said that even if the government does not lift the ban officially, the Education Department has been told unofficially that students wearing hijab should not be disturbed.So why is the Congress shying away from revoking the ban? The answer is what you would typically expect from the party. Don’t want to disturb equations before the Lok Sabha polls, don’t want to give BJP grounds to polarise. A little bird also told us that many educational institutions have been informally told to allow young girls and women to cover their heads if the scarf is in keeping with school uniform colours. The CM, however, is personally interested in revoking the ban, so will he prevail over others who are urging caution? We will keep you posted. TN govt’s next media planAfter putting together a fact check unit, the Tamil Nadu government is gearing up for part two. TNM has learnt that a media hub to disseminate information through social media is in the works. This plan was conceived because the government felt there was no coordinated plan to spread information about its work. The media hub will operate under the Information Department and work out of Kalaivanar Arangam, from where the fact finding team also operates.The Chief Secretary has written to all District Collectors, who have to now appoint nodal officers. These nodal officers will communicate with the media hub project director and send news about schemes, policies, and most importantly -- success stories. The government has also identified 13 departments that the media hub will be in charge of and the Youth Welfare and Sports Development portfolio handled by Udhayanidhi Stalin tops the list. So get set for PR bombardment from the Tamil Nadu government. Congress’ Sharmila conundrumThe Telangana elections are done and dusted, but the question of what to do with YS Sharmila, the daughter of YS Rajasekhara Reddy and sister of current Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, has not been solved by the Congress yet. After a recent meeting that Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had with Andhra Congress leaders, there were stories floating that Sharmila would be made Andhra Congress chief. There were also rumours that Sharmila had settled her differences with Jagan and will contest on a YSRCP ticket. The Congress leadership believes that many of these stories are being planted by Sharmila’s camp to build pressure.While a lot of Andhra Congress leaders do want Sharmila onboard, what we hear is that she does not want to contest in 2024 from an Andhra seat and would prefer a Rajya Sabha nomination instead. A position in AICC is also on the cards. Campaigning in Andhra would pit her against her brother..Zero HourA political story of public importance.India targets Apple over its phone hacking notifications.PowermovesTop 5 political stories.Rajinikanth’s cigarette and the start of Vijayakant’s DMDKChennai’s neighbourhoods during floods: Adrift together, divided by casteBeyond ideology: Kerala media, CPI(M) and the fight for narrative control‘Dr BR Ambedkar: Now & Then’ uses Bahujan lens to highlight stories of resistancePratap Simha's path to power paved with provocation