FIR filed against BJP Hyderabad candidate Madhavi Latha for asking voters to remove burqa
In a viral video, Madhavi Latha is seen asking burqa-clad women Muslim voters at a booth in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency, to show their faces to compare the same with their photo identity cards
A case was filed by election authorities against BJP candidate for Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, K Madhavi Latha, on Monday (May 13) for allegedly asking burqa-clad women to reveal their faces to cross-check their identities, at a poll booth.
In a video that has gone viral, Madhavi Latha is seen asking burqa-clad women Muslim voters at a booth in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency, to show their faces to compare the same with their photo identity cards.
"A case is registered in Malakpet police station against Madhavi Latha, contesting candidate, BJP, under Sections 171C, 186, 505(1)(c) of IPC and Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act," the Hyderabad Collector said in a post on X.
Earlier, District Election Officer Ronald Ross had told the media that a case will be filed against Madhavi Latha for the act, while asserting that no candidate has the right to check the identity of candidates.
A vocal leader of the saffron party, Madhavi Latha is pitted against sitting MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in Hyderabad, which is voting on Monday (May 13) in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls. The Lok Sabha seat has been a stronghold of the Owaisi family for decades for its hold over the dominant Muslim population in the Old City.
While Owaisi is yet to comment on the issue, he shared the video on his X handle.
BJP candidate alleges discrepancies in voting process
Madhavi Latha, however, has said that a candidate has the right to check voter ID cards as per law and that she had gently requested the women before cross-checking their identities.
“I am a candidate. As per law, a candidate has the right to check ID cards without facemasks. I am not a man, I am a woman and with a lot of humility, I requested them. If somebody wants to make a big issue out of it, it means they are scared,” she told ANI.
Madhavi Latha also accused police personnel at the police station of being complacent and not checking anything. She alleged that senior citizens are showing up to vote at the booth only to find their names deleted from the voter list.