Any woman, no matter which corner of the world she is in, would never want rape convicts to be freed from jail. Rape is a crime for which every criminal needs to be given the highest punishment. The 2002 Bilkis Bano was one such rape case which shook the nation. Bilkis was 21 years old and 5 months pregnant when she was gang raped and 14 of her family members were murdered. 11 convicts from the case were given life imprisonment for the heinous crime they committed. But on August 15, which was Independence Day, all these 11 convicts were released by the Gujarat government. They were imprisoned in the Godhra sub-jail.
The release of the convicts has enraged the citizens of the country and also the Opposition party. The Congress Party launched scathing attacks on the Bhartiya Janta Party which is the state government of Gujarat for releasing the convicts. The Congress party has asked whether this is the ‘Amrit Kaal’ that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was referring to in his Independence Day speech.
The media department chairperson, Pawan Khera, of the Congress, said in a press conference that soon after the PM spoke about respecting women in his big speech were the convicts released. He also asked if he was just saying words which he didn’t believe either. He also went on to allege that the convicts were ‘felicitated’.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called this the ‘real face’ of new India where rapists and convicted criminals are being released from jail. The All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) has also demanded answers from Narendra Modi and Amit Shah on the decision to release these convicts. Rati Rao and Meena Tewari who are the President and general secretary respectively of the AIPWA, have asked in a joint statement that how are they expected to believe this decision did not have the ‘blessings of BJP’s two topmost leaders.’
Also read: Bilkis Bano’s Convicted Rapists Welcomed Back To Society With Sweets And Open Arms, A Day After Call To Support Nari Shakti
The 11 convicts were released on remission policy.
Image courtesy – Rajdeep Sardesai
