On Monday, the BJP candidate from Hyderabad Maadhavi Latha captured her asking veiled women to remove their masks so she could verify them. This move by the BJP candidate, Maadhavi, was seen as an attempt to intimidate voters, leading to a harassment case being filed against her, under Representation of People act, 1951, with the Chief Electoral officer in Telangana.
IsIamists are rattled to see Madhavi Latha verifying Burqa clad women voters at polling booths.
The question is what’s wrong in it? She’s not misbehaving with them, not stopping them from voting, her intention is to make sure no fake voting takes place. pic.twitter.com/1tf787VdZ3
— Mr Sinha (Modi’s family) (@MrSinha_) May 13, 2024
Maadhavi argues
Defending her actions, she cited her rights to verify voters as a running candidate.
“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,” Maadhavi said.
She voiced her concern over the rising number of compromised booths due lack of verification provisions of veiled women electors. “90% booths are compromised. Police do not want to instruct female constables to check the face with the voter id. When I asked the police officer, he said it’s not his responsibility,” she told ANI.
Currently, an FIR has been filed against her at Malakpet Police station. Maadhavi is booked under Sections 171 c (undue influence at elections), 186 ( Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), and 505 (1) (c) (intent to incite any class or community to commit crime against any other class or community) of the IPC and under Section 132 of the Representation of People Act.
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A long-standing practice v/s ECI mandate
The incident has raised two arguments. One argument is that conducting free and fair elections is the ECI’s mandate, which includes ensuring no bogus votes are cast. Polling officers are required to verify a voter’s appearance against the photo on the voter card, if needed. Infact the ECI’s handbook for Returning Officers instructs them to appoint at least one lady polling officer to facilitate and verify women electors. “The availability of female polling personnel should be examined for appointing Presiding/ Polling Officers in polling stations set up exclusively for female voters or where the number of female voters, especially (where) pardanashin (burqa-clad) women is large,” it read.
The other side of the argument highlights that veiled women electors have been exercising their electoral rights without the need for an identity verification, since it is subjected to preserving the privacy rights of these women, for a long time. A sudden introduction to set up bodies that verify such electors might deter the women electors from going to vote, considering their stringent religious practice forbid them from unmasking themselves in public. This would ultimately jeopardize the ECI’s hard-earned efforts to boost women’s electoral participation
BJP’s novice candidate, Maadhavi Latha is set against a veteran politician from AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi in Hyderabad, a constituency largely under AIMIM influence. Hyderabad, a constituency in Telangana is presently polling in the 4th phase of general elections. Hyderabad’s overall voter turnout has been recorded at 66.3%.
