'ISN'T THIS DEFAMING ME?', ASKS WOMAN WHO WAS SLAPPED BY CONGRESS NIZAMABAD MP

NEW DELHI: In a recent incident, a video went viral showing Congress Nizamabad candidate Jeevan Reddy slapping a woman during his campaign, to which the victim said on Saturday that she told the Congress candidate she doesn't have a house and pension to which he assured her by tapping on her cheek.

The woman said, "I neither have a house nor do I get a pension. I told him (Nizamabad Congress MP candidate Jeevan Reddy) to please show mercy on me. Then he assured me by saying, Doras (queen) you would get it by keeping his hand on my cheek".

"But by showing that I was slapped, isn't this defaming me?" she asked.

When asked about the incident, Reddy simply responded, "It was lovely, it was lovely."

The incident took place in a village within the Armur Assembly segment of the Nizamabad constituency.

During the campaign interaction, the Congress MP was interacting with people and a woman told him that this time she would vote for flower (BJP) in the 2024 election as she was devoid of pension and house promised by the Congress. Reddy assured her by placing his hand on her cheek, but the video went viral allegedly that she was slapped.

In the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat, Reddy is contesting against the BJP's sitting MP Arvind Dharmapuri. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Dharmapuri secured 45.22 per cent of the votes, defeating the TRS candidate, Kalvakuntla Kavitha, who received 38.6 per cent of the votes.

Separately, due to the prevailing heatwave conditions in Telangana, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the polling hours for various assembly segments in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on May 13. The new polling timings are from 7 am to 6 pm, an extension from the earlier schedule of 7 am to 5 pm. This decision aims to increase voter participation.

(With inputs from agencies)