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‘I bow my head in shame, hang Bilkis convicts’ — BJP’s ex-CM Shanta Kumar slams Gujarat govt

BJP veteran & former Union minister questions how Gujarat government released the rape and murder convicts, and says he'll speak to PM Modi to seek his intervention.

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New Delhi: Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintains its silence on the Bilkis Bano case, party veteran and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar has slammed the Gujarat government for allowing the release of the rape and murder convicts.

“I bow my head in shame after hearing about the release of the convicts. This was one of the most barbaric cases in history. How can any government allow such remission to the convicts?  The Gujarat government should roll back its decision and hang those people convicted in case,” the octogenarian leader, also a former Union minister in the Vajpayee government, told ThePrint.

Kumar also said that he would reach out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “undo” the remission granted to these convicts.

On Independence Day, all 11 convicts in the high-profile case walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the Bhupendra Patel-led BJP government in Gujarat allowed their release under its remission policy.

These convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2002 for the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of several members of her family during the Gujarat communal riots. The remission comes in a year when the state will elect a new assembly.

It is “shameful” that the release happened when the country was observing the 75th anniversary of Independence, Kumar said.

“When the special court pronounced its judgement by convicting them for their crime, and the high court justified their conviction for rape and murder, it means it has been proved that they committed heinous crimes,” he asserted.

“I am surprised that despite such heinous crimes, they were not hanged. Now, I am more surprised after knowing that the Gujarat government has freed them by using a special provision. It’s shameful that despite it being the 75th year of Independence, crime against women and girls is rising.”

A huge controversy erupted after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) greeted the convicts with garlands at its office on 17 August. The opposition Congress attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making “hollow claims” about the empowerment of women in his Independence Day speech.  The BJP has, however, maintained its silence.


Also Read: Anger, fear, politics — Bilkis convicts’ remission revives 2002 memories for Gujarat Muslims


Hush-hush in BJP camp

In the BJP camp, many leaders who spoke to ThePrint claimed that they were told not to make statements given the sensitivity of the case. The party faced embarrassment after BJP MLA C. K. Raulji defended the convicts, saying they were Brahmins and that Brahmins are known for good ‘sanskaar’ (values). As reported by ThePrint earlier, the MLA got his facts wrong — only three of the 11 convicts were Brahmins.

Shanta Kumar, meanwhile, said the remissions reveal the extent of these convicts’ influence. “It shows that the convicts are powerful as they were not hanged. It also shows their power in the system, for which rules were bent,” he said, adding that the Gujarat government should rectify its “fault”.

“I will request the prime minister to use his influence to undo this remission, as it’s not only against the soul of justice but it shows our failed commitment to protecting women,” the former union minister added.

After the convicts were released, Bano issued a statement that the premature release had shaken her faith in justice and left her numb. The survivor of the post-Godhra riots said she was left “bereft of words”.

“Two days ago, on 15 August, the trauma of the past 20 years washed all over me again when I heard that the 11 convicted men, who devastated my family and my life and took away my three-year-old daughter from me, were let free,” Bano was quoted as saying in a statement released by her lawyer.

Her husband Yakub Rasool had told ThePrint that they got the news of the remission through the media. “When I told this to Bilkis, she was shocked,” he had said.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed to consider listing a plea challenging the grant of remission to 11 convicts after taking note of the submissions made by senior advocate Kapil Sibal and lawyer Aparna Bhat.

(Edited by Tony Rai)


Also Read: Hindu-Muslim to basic humanity—Bilkis Bano case shows India will never be free of Nirbhayas


 

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