On Monday, at a time when polling was on in the Hyderabad constituency, ANI reported visuals of BJP candidate Madhavi Latha Kompella asking female Muslim voters to show their ID cards inside a polling booth. In the video, she was seen asking a burqa-clad woman to remove her scarf and reveal her face so cross-verification could be done. The ANI tweet has so far garnered nearly half a million views.
Netizens are accusing Madhavi Latha of making a mockery of the electoral process by "intimidating" Muslim voters. "The Election Commission must take action against the BJP candidate," a social media user demanded. "She believes she can check voter ID cards and verify them? There is no functional ECI. So, I guess she can do whatever she wishes to," commentator Sumanth Raman wrote. "This is unacceptable. How can a candidate go inside a polling booth and check ID cards? Please issue a notice immediately," The Desh Bhakt wrote.
In a video shared by journalist Revathi, something similar was observed. Nizamabad BJP MP candidate Aravind Dharmapuri was seen questioning Muslim women for wearing a burqa during the voting process.
On the other hand, many Netizens defended the two BJP leaders, saying that there is no way bogus voting could be curtailed if voters are allowed to cover their faces. "There is no anti-Muslim bigotry in this. Bogus voting is a reality in India," a Twitter user wrote.
