Opposition, women’s body up in arms against BJP as Gujarat govt releases Bilkis Bano case convicts

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Gujarat government’s decision on Independence Day to release 11 convicts who gangraped Bilkis Bano, and murdered seven of her family, enraged the Opposition. The Congress, on Tuesday, asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether it was part of the ‘Amrit Kaal’ he referred to in his Red Fort speech, in which he also spoke about respecting women.

Strongly condemning the state government’s decision, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said it is the “real face of New India—convicted killers and rapists released. Activist Teesta who fought for justice was jailed.”

Congress media department chairperson Pawan Khera said the decision to remit the 11 convicts’ life sentences should not be seen in isolation, as he referred to how the BJP leaders treated the accused in Kathua and Unnao rape cases.

Also read: Bilkis Bano's family surprised on release of 11 life term convicts in case of her gang-rape and kin murder

“There is a pattern,” Khera said at a press conference.

He said the remission of rape convicts came on a momentous day, the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, when Modi spoke about respecting women during his address to the nation from the Red Fort.

“Soon after that, the Gujarat government released these convicts. The Prime Minister should tell us what he spoke from the Red Fort was just words which he himself did not believe. He had earlier spoken derogatory about women like Rs 50 crore girlfriend, widow of Congress, besides calling a woman MP ‘Soorpanakha’. Will the real Narendra Modi stand up?

“Modi said one thing from the Red Fort and within no time, the Gujarat government has acted some other way. Is it that Modi said something in public, and then picked up the phone to call the state government to ask them to do something else?” Khera said.

The Congress media chief said the Gujarat government took into account the nature of crime, behaviour of the convicts and whether they completed 14 years in jail. “Isn’t the nature of crime, here rape, not serious enough? Isn’t it that the convicts of rape should get exemplary punishment?”

He also alleged that the convicts were being “felicitated”.

Khera asked, “is this Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav?”

Condemning the release of convicts, the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) also asked Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to answer for the decision.

“Will the PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah care to comment on this decision? Do we really believe that this decision was taken without the blessing of these two topmost leaders of the BJP? India At 75 became a day of shame for India’s women, because the ruling BJP chose to make it a day to free Bilkis’s rapists,” AIPWA President Rati Rao, general secretary Meena Tewari and secretary Kavita Krishnan said in a statement.