Centre, Gujarat govt must apologise to Bilkis Bano: Owaisi on SC verdict

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 9 (ANI):Reacting to the Supreme Court's verdict in the Bilkis Bano case, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday demanded an apology from the BJP-led governments in Gujarat and the Centre whikle also cautioned rapists that their affliation to particular political ideology will not protect them.
Owaisi urged the BJP government at the Centre, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to speak up and apologize to Bilkis Bano.
The Supreme Court on Monday struck down the Gujarat government's order granting remission to 11 convicts who had gang-raped Bilkis Bano and murdered her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots.
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was speaking to ANI when he said, "This incident happened when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the environment was so communally poisonous that this whole trial for Bilkis Bano to get justice was shifted to Maharashtra."
"Today, the Supreme Court said that the state of Gujarat acted in complicit with the convicts. Also please see that it was the two BJP MLAs who endorsed the release of these rapists and one of the BJP MLA called the rapist as 'Sanskari'," he added.
Welcoming the top court judgement Owaisi said, "Now, today the Honourable Supreme Court had held that the government of Gujarat deliberately helped this rapist get free and it did not have the power to do so. I welcome this judgment and I hope it acts as a precedent against all the rapists in the future. The rapists should understand that just because they affirm a political ideology that is anaemic to the Constitution of India, they will not be set free."
"Another important point is that the Union Home Ministry approved the remission and the premature release of these convicts through a letter dated 11 July 2022. It is very clear that when Narendra Modi talks about Nari Shakti, it's just a hollow claim. It has no relevance on the ground because it is they (BJP) who are now standing with the rapists of Bilkis Bano," he said further.
Owaisi also alleged BJP government of helping Bilkis Bano rapists in their release from jail and seek their (BJP) apology from Bano. (ANI)