BJP candidate Madhavi Latha asks burqa-clad women to lift veil at voting booth, sparks controversy
Hyderabad: The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India after a video surfaced showing BJP's Lok Sabha candidate for Hyderabad, K Madhavi Latha, allegedly checking the identity documents of burqa-clad women at a polling booth and asking them to lift their veil.
Latha and Owaisi are contesting against each other in Hyderabad, with Owaisi having won the seat by a significant margin in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Following her own voting at Amrita Vidyalaya, Latha visited several polling booths and stopped at one in Azampur, where she reportedly began checking IDs of women waiting to vote. In the video, she is seen requesting a burqa-clad woman to lift her veil, which the woman complies with.
Latha also instructed polling officials to ensure proper checking of ID cards before allowing voting, citing discrepancies in the voter list and missing names of several voters.
This isn't the first time Latha has courted controversy. Earlier, on April 17, a video allegedly showed her symbolically shooting an arrow towards a mosque during a Sri Rama Navami rally. She later apologized, stating the video was incomplete.
As the recent video went viral on social media, Latha responded, stating, "It has come to my notice that one video of mine is being circulated in the media to create negativity. I would like to clarify that it is an incomplete view, and even if anyone's sentiments are hurt because of such a video, I would like to apologize as I respect all individuals."
The video did not go well with the netizens as they criticised the Election Commission for their inaction .
“What's happening here? Who is she to verify the voters? She is not authorized to check and verify the identity of the voters. Only the presiding officers can do that.
@ECISVEEP, are you still sleeping?”
“Who gave this joker an authority to verify the voters? Let the authorized officers do their job. Election commission, wake up.”
Who gave this joker an authority to verify the voters?
— Shoaib Mohammed (@shoaibpage) May 13, 2024
Let the authorized officers do their job. Election commission, wake up. https://t.co/wJnyK2BKvN
Another user tweeted :
“Who authorised her to verify voters?
Where is the administration ?
Hello @ECISVEEP what's your say on this?”
Who authorised her to verify voters❓
— Rishi Choudhary 🇮🇳 (@RishiRahar) May 13, 2024
Where is the administration ❓
Hello @ECISVEEP what's your say on this❓
Later a case was registered at the Malakpet Police Station under sections 171C, 186, 505(1)(c) of IPC and Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act.
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
— Collector Hyderabad (@Collector_HYD) May 13, 2024
In Telangana, brisk voting was reported for the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies, with high turnout in areas like Adilabad, Zahirabad, Khammam, Mahabubabad, and Nalgonda, while lagging in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
