Union Minister Somanna instructs Railway exam board to rescind rule mandating students remove religious symbols

BENGALURU: Union Minister of State for Railways, V Somanna, has instructed the Railway Recruitment Board RRB) to do away the rule that mandates students who are appearing for an exam to remove religious symbols on them, such as earrings, mangalsutra, janivara (janeu), hip bands or others.

The Karnataka Government has also taken exception to the rule, with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar stating that if items need to be checked, then they can be, but forcing students to remove them is wrong.

BJP MP Brijesh Chowta informed in a post on X that Union Minister Somanna had intervened and asked authorities to “not indulge in any such practices”. He stated that students applying for the position of Nursing Superintendent at Indian Railways were instructed to remove their religious symbols and ornaments, such as mangalsutra and janivara.

Glad to inform that, as we brought it to his attention, our Union MoS Shri @VSOMANNA_BJP has intervened and instructed authorities not to indulge In any such practices that require those appearing for the examination for the post of Nursing Superintendent of Indian Railways to… pic.twitter.com/Ii3TXM01jf

— Captain Brijesh Chowta ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಟನ್ ಬ್ರಿಜೇಶ್ ಚೌಟ (@CaptBrijesh) April 28, 2025

“Glad to inform that, as we brought it to his attention, our Union MoS Shri V Somanna has intervened and instructed authorities not to indulge In any such practices that require those appearing for the examination for the post of Nursing Superintendent of Indian Railways to remove religious symbols and ornaments like the Mangalsutra and Janivara as was said to be required by the letter of admission”, Chowta wrote in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Deputy CM Shivakumar also said, “When it’s a religious things like a ‘mangalsutra’ or a ‘janivara’ (janeu, sacred thread), they can check it if required, but removing them is not correct”. He emphasised that there have been previous cases of students who have concealed a small device in their ears, but he demanded that the order be rescinded.

“We are clearly saying that any such religious symbols, earrings, mangalsutra, janivara (janeu), or a hip band, they can check it, it is not wrong. However, in the past, there have been instances where people kept a small device in their ears. It is not right. The order must be taken back… I believe that anything that incites anger among the people should be removed. I demand that such rules be removed”, Shivakumar added.

The rules printed in the Railway Recruitment Board’s exam letter stated that certain “banned items” like bangles, religious symbols, ornaments, mangalsutra, belts, bracelets, and handbags are not allowed in the exam centre. The rule also prohibited the use of electronic gadgets, including mobile phones, pagers, watches, earphones, Bluetooth-enabled devices, microphones, health bands, calculators, and more. (ANI)