Hyderabad, During the fourth phase of the general elections in Telangana, incidents involving BJP candidates requesting Muslim women to remove their burqas at polling stations have sparked significant controversy and intervention by the Election Commission of India.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Election Commission responded swiftly after videos surfaced showing Madhavi Latha, a BJP nominee from Hyderabad, explicitly demanding that burqa-clad women reveal their faces to verify their identities during the voting process. This incident led to widespread criticism and called for immediate electoral oversight.
Further exacerbating the issue, Dharampuri Arvind, another BJP candidate from Nizamabad, was also recorded challenging the presence of veiled Muslim women at the polls, resulting in a heated exchange with election officials that later went viral online. The Election Commission has since taken steps to address these confrontations, emphasizing the importance of respecting voters’ privacy and legal rights.
Activists and political commentators have vehemently criticized the actions of the BJP candidates. Revathi, a journalist, labeled the remarks as undermining women’s rights to personal clothing choices, while women’s rights activist Khalid Parveen pointed out that identity verification at polls is the duty of designated female officials, not political candidates.
Former AIMMM president Navaid Hamid accused the BJP of voter intimidation, suggesting that these incidents could deter Muslim voter participation. Following these events, the Hyderabad Collector announced legal action against Latha, reinforcing the commitment to uphold electoral integrity and protect voter rights.