I.N.D.I.A bloc hails SC ruling on Bilkis Bano case, slams 'patron of criminals' BJP

The brutality of gang rapes and mass murders cannot be brushed aside and the perpetrators remain unpunished, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

New Delhi: The Opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc on Monday pounded on the ruling BJP over Supreme Court's judgement of cancelling the granting of remission to Bilkis Bano's rapists, saying the country now knows who are the 'patron of criminals' and the 'veil over anti-women policies' of the saffron party has been unravelled.

The parties said justice has now been delivered to Bilkis, who was raped and some of her family members murdered during the Gujarat riots, and that the verdict is a "tight slap" on the face of those who set the rapists free and garlanded them.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "the tendency to 'kill justice' for electoral gains is dangerous for the democratic system. Today the Supreme Court's decision once again told the country who is the 'patron of criminals'. Bilkis Bano's tireless struggle is a symbol of the victory of justice against the arrogant BJP government."

Emphasising that "ultimately justice has prevailed", Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the "veil over the anti-women policies of the BJP has been removed" and this order would further strengthen the public confidence in the justice system.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said the long arm of the law finally catches up and the verdict marks a "monumental victory" for justice. "BJP leaders who facilitated the release of the convicted criminals and glorified them should never again show the audacity to talk about law and order, women's safety, or minority rights," he said.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said it appears that justice is being delivered to Bilkis Bano finally after two long decades. "The brutality of gang rapes and mass murders cannot be brushed aside and the perpetrators remain unpunished," he said.

In a statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said, "the Supreme Court division bench, going beyond the `competence’ of the Gujarat government to pass the remission order, has actually stated that it acted in ‘complicity’ with the convicts. The bench has also stated that a fraud has been played by the Gujarat government in presenting the facts in justifying the remission order."

RJD MP Manoj K Jha said, “these are moments that reinforce the belief that justice is possible. Unfortunately such moments are very rare off late.”

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said Bilkis Bano fought her battle on her own for justice while the BJP government was helping rapists in Gujarat. "A strong message must be sent to all rapists irrespective of which political ideology they belong to that no remission will be given to them," he said.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said the entire BJP leadership owes an apology to Bilkis Bano.

"She has faced continuous humiliation at the hands of the Modi-led BJP governments in Gujarat and the Centre. The Supreme Court verdict is a tight slap on the face of those who set the rapists free and garlanded them. The Court has clearly held that the Gujarat government acted in tandem with the rapists to suppress facts and mislead the Court. The BJP is a party that stands with the rapists and murderers, it cannot be trusted to keep India’s women safe. They are a threat to women’s safety," he said.