Congress demands PM's apology over Uttarakhand resort murder; slams 'selective action' in expelling BJP leader

The Congress on Saturday attacked the BJP after the son of one of its leaders was arrested in the murder case of a woman receptionist at a resort in Uttarakhand, and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the nation.

The opposition party termed as "selective action" the BJP expelling Vinod Arya and his son from the party and said it should remove all its lawmakers who are facing charges of crimes against women.

Arya's other son Pulkit Arya was arrested in the murder case of Ankita Bhandari. She was a receptionist at a resort owned by Pulkit Arya in Uttarakhand's Pauri .

The resort's manager and the assistant manager were also arrested on Friday and all three were sent to judicial custody for two weeks in the murder case of the 19-year-old receptionist.

Read | Uttarakhand resort receptionist killed for refusing to have sex with guests, says friend

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate claimed that whenever an incident of sexual exploitation or rape of a woman comes to the fore, a BJP leader's name crops up.

"After anger increased, some action has been taken but I believe that this is selective action. If action is to be taken, remove all your MLAs and MPs involved in crimes against women," she said and listed the names of BJP leaders.

She also targeted Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani over her social media post in which the BJP leader shared a picture of herself in a kitchen.

"When the country was mourning the woman receptionist's death, the minister was asking on social media 'what's cooking in her kitchen'.

"I don't know what is cooking in your kitchen but there is fear in the minds of women and girls, she should break her silence and act against the perpetrators," Shrinate said.

"We must understand this is the intoxication of power and these things will continue to happen till BJP leaders feel they have political protection," Shrinate said.

She said that when Prime Minister Modi speaks from the ramparts of the Red Fort, he should think as to why BJP leaders are involved in such crimes against women.

"Narendra Modi must apologise and sack Smriti Irani from the women and child development ministry," Shrinate said.

The Uttarakhand police chief on Saturday said that the Bhandari, whose body was fished out from a canal on Saturday, was being pressured by the resort owner to provide "special services" to guests.

DGP Ashok Kumar said that this much has been known from the girl's chat with a friend.

Earlier, a Facebook friend of the receptionist had reportedly alleged that she was killed because she refused to have sex with guests as demanded by the owner of the resort where she worked.

Before her body was found, she was reported missing by her parents after they could not find her in her room Monday morning.