Modi govt should apologise to Bilkis Bano: Owaisi

Hyderabad, Jan 8

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court order quashing the remission of 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and demanded that the BJP governments in Gujarat and at the Centre apologise to her.

He told reporters that the BJP governments in Gujarat and at the Centre headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which helped in releasing of rapists of Bilkis Bano and killers of her mother and four other women should speak up and apologise to her.

The Hyderabad MP noted that the Supreme Court, in its order, observed the state of Gujarat acted in complicity with convicts.

“I welcome the Supreme Court order and hope that it will act as a precedent against all rapists in future. The rapists should understand that just because they affirm a political ideology which is inimical to the Constitution of India they will not be released,” he said.

He mentioned that the Supreme Court, in its order, made it clear the BJP government released the rapists despite not having powers to do so.

Owaisi said that with the Supreme Court order BJP stands exposed on the issue of justice for women as it supported rapists and endorsed their release.

The AIMIM leader said the Union home ministry headed by Amit Shah approved remission and premature release of the convicts through a letter dated July 11, 2022. He wanted to know why Amit Shah gave approval for their release.

“The Prime Minister’s slogan of Nari Shakti is only a hollow claim which has no relevance to the ground realities,” he said

He recalled that the incident happened when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat. He said Bilkish Bano fought for justice on her own.

“The environment in Gujarat was so communally poisonous that the trial was shifted to Maharashtra,” he said.

Owaisi also recalled that the rapists were released just before elections in Gujarat. “The rapists were garlanded. Two MLAs of BJP endorsed the release and one of the MLAs also called them sanskari,” he said.