Special officials to verify identity of veiled women voters in Gurugram

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, May 20

Taking a cue from BJP’s Madhavi Latha’s naquab controversy in Hyderabad, the electoral authorities in Gurugram will depute special officials to verify “veiled” women candidates in district.

The anganwadi workers and auxiliary nurse midwives will be roped in for rural booths in the district, where wearing a ‘Ghunghat’ is a common practice. The workers will verify the identity of such electors by matching the voter Id cards with their faces. The move is aimed to rule out any bogus voting during polling on May 25.

“The rules laid down by the Election Commission of India (EC) allow us to get an extra staff member, following which we have decided to get a special women staff for the rural booths. This will ensure that we manage to verify the identity of women voters thereby respecting their space and choices as well,” said District Election Officer and Gurugram DC Nishant Yadav.

The district units of BJP in Nuh have demanded a similar provision there as well. Known for one of the highest voting percentages in the state, Nuh is also known for attempts to bogus voting. A local leader said, “We all know what happens in Nuh. After the Hyderabad incident, we don’t want similar issues here and thus, the administration should appoint staff to verify women voters’ identity.”

It may be noted that on May 13, the BJP candidate in Hyderabad, Madhavi Latha, came under scanner in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Latha was captured on a video asking veiled voters to reveal their faces to her. The Hyderabad police had registered an FIR against her under various sections of the IPC.

As per the EC norms, polling officers are required to verify a voter’s appearance against the photo on the voter card, if needed. To ensure this is done while also protecting the privacy of the woman elector in ‘ghunghat’/ ‘burqa’/ ‘naqab’, the EC has issued standing instructions to ROs of constituencies and presiding officers of polling stations.

‘Duly regard privacy, dignity’

The Election Commission’s Handbook for Presiding Officer says if a large number of ‘pardanashin’ (burqa-clad) women electors are assigned to your polling station, you should make special arrangements for their identification and application of indelible ink on the left index finger by a woman polling officer in a separate enclosure while duly regarding her privacy, dignity and decency.