TMC welcomes SC decision in Bilkis Bano case, slams BJP for 'facilitating' release of convicts

The Trinamool Congress TMC on Monday lauded the Supreme Court judgment quashing the Gujarat governments decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, and slammed the BJP for facilitating their release.In a post on X after the court verdict, the TMC said it lays bare the Bharatiya Janata Partys BJP indifference to women and called it a slap on its face.The Supreme Courts ruling quashing the release of 11 rapists of Bilkis Bano by Gujarat Govt lays bare BJPs utter indifference to women.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday lauded the Supreme Court judgment quashing the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, and slammed the BJP for ''facilitating'' their release.

In a post on X after the court verdict, the TMC said it ''lays bare'' the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) indifference to women and called it a ''slap'' on its face.

''The Supreme Court's ruling quashing the release of 11 rapists of Bilkis Bano by Gujarat Govt lays bare BJP's utter indifference to women. It is a slap on the face of BJP who facilitated the release of these criminals and glorified the convicts. Justice will always prevail over political agendas,'' the TMC said.

Party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the court verdict as ''strong and bold''.

''I am grateful to the Supreme Court for this strong and bold judgment. It proves that the rapists were moving freely and enjoying power,'' she said at Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

In a post on X, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said the Gujarat government was slammed by the apex court for being ''complicit'' by granting remission to the culprits.

''It is reassuring that justice has been done to Bilkis Bano today after a long long fight that she should've never been subjected to. What's important to remember is the original trial was moved out of Gujarat to Maharashtra because the SC felt Bilkis wouldn't get a fair hearing in Gujarat. The CM of Gujarat then was Narendra Modi,'' he said on the microblogging platform.

''The BJP Gujarat govt was slammed today by the SC for being complicit with the rape and murder convicts and granting them remission illegally.... BJP welcomed the rapists and murderers with garlands after they were illegally released in 2022,'' Gokhale said.

''Remember all of this when Modi preaches about 'Naari Shakti' in the upcoming elections,'' he said.

Accusing the Gujarat government of abusing its power, the Supreme Court on Monday quashed the remission to the 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 communal riots in the state and ordered that they be sent back to jail within two weeks.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was raped while fleeing the horror of the riots that broke out after the Godhra train-burning incident in February 2002. Her three-year-old daughter was among her seven family members killed.

All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released from prison on August 15, 2022.