Hyderabad BJP candidate Madhavi Latha asks Muslims to remove burqa for ID verification

BJP candidate from Hyderabad, Kompella Madhavi Latha, faces heavy criticism and a police case after a video shower her asking burqa-clad (remove burqa) women at a polling booth to reveal their faces so as to check their identities and confirm they are the same people photographed on their voter ID cards.

This case has sparked communal rifts and a question on the ethics of the act, as well as the idea of authority and intimidation that the candidate is believed to be exercising.

Conterversy on remove burqa

While speaking to NDTV, District Election Officer Ronald Ross said that "no candidate has the right to life someone’s veil to check her identity." He added that if there is any kind of issue or suspicion related to a voter’s identity, the candidate can consult a polling officer to verify their identity. 

The case has been registered under the Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act. The BJP candidate has been registered in Malakpet Police Station, according to Hyderabad Collector’s office. However, in a conversation with ANI, Latha has reportedly remarked that a candidate has the right to check voter ID cards. 

“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 said. 

Latha is going up against Asaduddin Owaise, president of AIMIM, in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections today. Owaisi has shared the video on his Twitter timeline but has not said anything else, otherwise.

The reason for Latha’s decision has been dissatisfaction with the polling officers and security checks done at polling booths— as well as an alleged disparity in the voter’s 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 have been deleted from the list,” she told ANI.

Hyderabad’s seat has been an All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Owaisi family stronghold for the last four decades. In 2019, Owaisi won the seat by a margin drawn by the expanse of over 2.90 lakh votes— surmassing 64% of the total votes.

However, Latha, a BJP debutant has been a particularly promising candidate as well. With a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Nizam College and a Master’s degree in Political Science from Osmania University, she is a cultural activist praised by PM Modi on April 7 for making solid points with logic and passion in a TV interview.  “Madhavi Latha Ji, your ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ episode is exceptional. You’ve made very solid points and also done so with logic and passion. My best wishes to you," the Prime Minister posted on X.

She has also been at the front lines of campaigns against triple-talaq, criminalised by the Parliament in 2019, vocal about the stance she has been taking while Owaisi has been against it, calling it an attack on Muslim identity and citizenship.

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