BJP candidate Madhavi Latha, who is contesting from Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha elections, has sparked controversy following her actions in a polling booth. A video surfaced showing Latha interacting with Muslim women voters, requesting them to remove their burkhas and verify their identities against their voter ID cards.
“A case is registered in Malakpet Police Station against Smt Madhavi Latha, Contesting candidate, BJP under sections 171C, 186, 505(1)(c) of IPC and Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act,” said Hyderabad Collector.
In defense of her actions, Latha explained to ANI, “I am a candidate. As per law, the candidate has the right to check the ID cards without the facemasks. I am not a man, I am a woman and with a lot of humbleness, I have only requested them – can I please see and verify with the ID cards? If somebody wants to make a big issue out of it, that means they are scared.”
Earlier in the day, she also raised concerns about discrepancies in the voter list. “The Police personnel seem very dull, they are not active…They are not checking anything. Senior citizen voters are coming here but their names are deleted from the list. A few of them are residents of Goshamahal but their names are in the list of Rangareddy,” Latha reported to ANI.
Latha cast her vote at the Amrita Vidyalayam polling station in Hyderabad and commented on the electoral process, “Sabka Sath mai hi Sabka Vikas Hai.” She is challenging a significant opponent, AIMIM chief and four-time Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi, as well as BRS candidate Gaddam Srinivas Yadav. Notably, this election marks the first instance of BJP fielding a female candidate from the Hyderabad constituency.
Asaduddin Owaisi has been a dominant political figure in Hyderabad since 2004 and had previously served as an MLA in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
The fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, covering 96 Parliamentary Constituencies across nine states and one Union Territory, commenced today at 7:00 AM.
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Published: 13 May 2024, 02:01 PM IST