UP polls: Police to check by removing burqa; Muslim women worried

New Delhi: With by-elections to nine assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh due on Wednesday, Muslim women voters are worried that the police will remove their burqas and search them at polling booths. The first election in the state since the Lok Sabha elections is between the BJP and the SP (Samajwadi Party). Although the Congress is not contesting, it is supporting the SP, which is part of the INDIA front. The BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) is contesting alone in nine seats.

Many Muslim women have decided not to go to the polls out of fear of being searched by removing their burqas. Their main concern is that the police will take away the voter ID cards and search their burqas. The SP has written a letter to the State Election Commission, seeking its intervention in the matter. The party’s main allegation is that the police are abusing their power. It was pointed out in the letter that the police did not have the authority to check voter ID cards. The letter also states that only polling officers have the authority to do so.

Meanwhile, there are allegations that booth-level officers have failed to distribute voter slips in areas where Muslim voters are in the majority. Due to this, many people are not aware of their booths. The Congress has come out in support of the SP, with Congress MP Pramod Tiwari alleging that the authorities' move is to intimidate minority voters. He demanded that the election guidelines be strictly followed and the police be stopped from checking voter ID cards.

However, the BJP has come forward claiming that the police have the legal authority to remove and check burqas.

By-elections are being held on Wednesday in the constituencies of Kundarki, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Phulpur, Katehari, Majhawan, Khair, Sishamau and Karhal.