A case was registered against BJP leader Kompella Madhavi Latha after a video of her asking Muslim women under hijab to reveal their faces to match them with the photos on their election identity cards at a polling booth went viral on social media websites.
Madhavi Latha was fielded by the BJP against a formidable candidate -- four-time MP from Hyderabad and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. She has been in the headlines ever since she got a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Case Registered Against BJP Candidate Madhavi Latha After Video of Her Checking Voter ID Cards Surfaces
District Election Officer Ronald Ross registered a case against Madhavi Latha in Malakpet Police Station under sections 171C, 186, and 505(1)(c) of the 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," said the Returning Officer on X (formerly known as Twitter) while replying to AltNews Fact-Checker Mohammed Zubair's tweet.
However, the BJP leader told news agency 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.
"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.