BJP's Madhavi Latha faces legal trouble over voter ID checks, after Muslim women asked to prove their identity inside voting booth

Viral video: BJP’s Hyderabad candidate Madhavi Latha conducts voter verification of Muslim women

Synopsis

Hyderabd ELections 2024: BJP's Hyderabad candidate Madhavi Latha sparked controversy by checking voter IDs at a polling booth, asking Muslim women to remove their Burkhas for verification. She defended her actions, citing the law allowing candidates to check IDs without facemasks. Latha had earlier criticized voter list discrepancies in her constituency. She faces strong competition from AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, a four-time Lok Sabha MP, in the ongoing fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections across 96 constituencies.

By ET Online

Last Updated: May 14, 2024, 05:12:00 PM IST

Madhavi Latha, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) candidate from Hyderabad, sparked controversy after a video surfaced showing her checking voter ID cards at a polling booth. In the video, Latha can be seen asking Muslim women to remove their Burkhas and verify their identities along with checking their voter IDs.

Clarifying her actions, Latha stated, "I am a candidate. As per the 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 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."

Read More: Elections 2024 Live Updates

The case has been registered under sections 171C, 186, 505(1)(c) of IPC and Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act.

ET PRIME - TOP TRENDING STORIES

Subscribe to ETPrime

Hyderabad, Collector in a post on X wrote, "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."

In the video, the BJP candidate can be seen asking Muslim women inside the booth to remove the Burkha and identify themselves along with checking their voter identity cards. Speaking about the video, the BJP leader told ANI that she had only requested the women to verify their identity and there was nothing wrong with this.

'Getting the medal like FIRs for telling the truth…': Madhavi Latha

Madhavi Latha, the BJP candidate in Hyderabad, has been accused of inspecting the voter ID cards of Muslim women during a visit to a polling booth on May 13, 2024. The case has been registered under sections 171C, 186, 505(1)(c) of the IPC and Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act. Madhavi Latha is contesting against AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat. Here's how she responded.

Asaduddin Owaisi: A Formidable Opponent
Madhavi Latha faces a strong contender in Asaduddin Owaisi, a four-time Lok Sabha MP and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief, from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha Constituency. This marks the first time the BJP has fielded a female candidate from this constituency.

Owaisi has been the elected representative from Hyderabad since 2004, previously serving as an MLA twice in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Fourth Phase of Lok Sabha Elections Underway

Voting for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in 96 Parliamentary Constituencies across nine states and one Union Territory began at 7:00 am today.

(With inputs from ANI)

(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

( Originally published on May 13, 2024 )

In Video: Viral video: BJP’s Hyderabad candidate Madhavi Latha conducts voter verification of Muslim women