Tanzania woman assaulted: BJP turns on the heat; asks Sonia Gandhi to remove Siddaramaiah as Karnataka CM

Terming the alleged assault and stripping of a Tanzanian woman in Bengaluru as a case of "racial attack", BJP national spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi on Thursday said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi should have reprimanded the state government and removed the Karnataka chief minister.

"Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi should have reprimanded the state government over this incident and should have immediately changed the chief minister, rather than asking for reports," Lekhi told PTI.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has sought a report from the Karnataka government, according to party General Secretary Digvijay Singh, the party's in-charge of the state. Countering the state government's claim that the woman was not paraded naked, Lekhi said, "Denying facts cannot change the truth."

"It is a question of our prestige...On how we treat our women in our country. Her top was taken off and she was paraded nude on the street. Her car was burned. Denying the facts can't change the truth on the ground.

"It is a case of racial discrimination, alongside a case of cruelty to women," she said and asked "Why are women in non-BJP ruled states are so unsafe?"

Amidst the outrage over the alleged assault and stripping of a 21-year-old Tanzanian woman, the Karnataka government today said five persons have been arrested in connection with it but denied that she was paraded naked.