A complaint has been lodged by a citizens forum in Telangana with the Chief Electoral Officer against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Madhavi Latha, for engaging in voter intimidation at a polling booth in Hyderabad. The forum, known as Telangana for Peace and Unity, expressed concern that Madhavi Latha’s actions may have negatively impacted the participation of Muslim women voters, despite the Election Commission’s efforts to encourage higher turnout. The complaint highlighted that Madhavi Latha specifically targeted Muslim women, which is considered a punishable offense under Section 153A(1)(b) and Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to the complaint, Madhavi Latha demanded that women wearing hijab or burqa remove their veils or headscarves and handed over their identity cards for personal verification. Videos of the incident show Madhavi Latha making statements such as “this says you are 38, remove it,” “who is this, who are you,” and “do you have another Aadhaar card?” while questioning their identities.
The actions of the BJP leader were defended by citing the Representation of People Act, 1951. The complaint highlighted that only the polling agent had the authority to challenge a person’s identity as a voter, as outlined in the rules. It was emphasized that the presiding officer or an authorized poll officer should verify the identities of voters, with the presiding officer having the power to enlist individuals at polling stations to aid in identifying electors. The complaint stressed that Madhavi Latha had no legal basis to intimidate voters, request them to remove their face masks, confiscate their ID cards, or inquire about personal information to confirm their identities. Following widespread condemnation of Madhavi’s actions in viral videos, District Election Officer Ronald Ross took action against her, leading to the filing of an FIR at the Malakpet police station. Madhavi Latha faced charges under various sections of the IPC and the Representation of People Act for her conduct.