Malakpet Police Station in Hyderabad has registered a case against BJP candidate Madhavi Latha for allegedly violating the election code by verifying the voter IDs of Muslim women voters. The case has been filed under sections 171C, 186, and 505(1)(c) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act.
Latha is currently facing off against AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi in Hyderabad, a constituency which Owaisi won by a significant margin in the last Lok Sabha elections. A viral video shows Latha cross-checking voter IDs and inspecting the faces of Muslim women at a polling station, even asking a burqa-clad woman to lift her veil.
In the video, Latha is heard cautioning poll officers on the importance of face identification during the voting process. She also highlighted major discrepancies in the voter list, citing the case of Narla Mallesh Yadav, a voter who was erroneously declared dead despite being alive and healthy.
This isn’t the first time Latha has courted controversy regarding minorities. Earlier, on April 17, she faced backlash for a video allegedly showing her symbolically shooting an arrow towards a mosque during a Sri Rama Navami rally. Latha later apologized, claiming that the video clip was taken out of context.
Meanwhile, Telangana witnessed an approximate voter turnout of 24.31 percent till 11 am on Monday, as polling got underway for 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Over 3.31 crore voters are expected to cast their votes in 35,356 polling stations across Telangana, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.
