Controversial Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Hyderabad Kompella Madhavi Latha has been barred from entering the Bagalkot district in Karnataka to attend a Ganesh idol immersion procession on September 24. District authorities prohibited her entry to the district for a month, citing possible law and order disturbances.
Madhavi Latha’s entry was prohibited to the entire Bagalkot district from September 23 to October 23 under section 163 (power of an executive magistrate to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). She was scheduled to attend the Hindu Mahasabha Ganapati immersion procession in Bagalkot city on the evening of September 24.
Bagalkot Deputy Commissioner Sangappa issued the order, which noted that Madhavi Latha was known for delivering inflammatory hate speeches at Hindu gatherings. He referred to the infamous incident from 2024, when she made a provocative gesture of shooting an arrow in the direction of a mosque while participating in the Ram Navami procession in Hyderabad.
“Such actions carry a high risk of provoking members of [the targeted] community, thereby disrupting law and order and potentially causing damage to public property,” the Deputy Commissioner said. His order noted that the immersion procession was expected to have a turnout of 6000 to 7000 people, and Madhavi Latha’s visit would mean “a strong possibility of a threat to law and order and potential damage to public property.”
He pointed out that Bagalkot was a communally sensitive district, listing past incidents affecting law and order during Ganesh Chaturthi immersion processions in 2015 and 2023.
Madhavi Latha became widely known across India in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha election, as she contested the Hyderabad seat from BJP against All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi. She is known for frequently making communal, Islamophobic remarks.
Madhavi Latha questioned the prohibitory orders and said, “If a Sanātani wants to travel to another district to offer prayers and celebrate Ganesh Mahotsava, why should the answer be a restriction on the devotee?”