After Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty directed St Rita's Public School, a Catholic-run institution, to allow hijab, BJP accused the state government of vote-bank politics. "This is the true face of the left...they have allowed 'hijab' to prevail above 'kitaab' (book)," BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla said. A Class-8 girl was allegedly denied entry into the school for wearing a hijab.