Bilkis Bano
Remission of Bilkis Bano rapists insult to womanhood and humankind: Khushbu Sundar first woman BJP leader to speak out
New Delhi/IBNS: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive committee member Khushbu Sundar turned out to be the first woman leader from the saffron camp to speak against the Gujarat government's order releasing the 11 convicts in the case related to the rape of Bilkis Bano during the 2002 post-Godhra train burning riots.
Sundar said in a tweet, "A woman who is raped, assaulted, brutalised and her soul scarred for life must get justice. No man who has been involved in it should go free.
"If he does so, it's an insult to humankind and womanhood. #BilkisBano or any woman, needs support, beyond politics n ideologies. Period."
A woman who is raped, assaulted, brutalised and her soul scarred for life must get justice. No man who has been involved in it should go free. If he does so, it's an insult to humankind and womanhood. #BilkisBano or any woman, needs support, beyond politics n ideologies. Period.
— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) August 24, 2022
Earlier, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis questioned the garlanding of the convicts after they walked out of the jail by some people linked to the BJP.
However, Fadnavis said the release was as per the court order.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Thursday issued a notice to the Centre and the Gujarat government seeking its response on the release of the convicts in the case.
Petitions challenging the release order were filed by three including CPI-M member Subhashini Ali and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra.
The release of the convicts has triggered a political firestorm with the Opposition slamming the BJP, which rules Gujarat, and its supreme leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had stressed on women's issues in his customary Independence Day speech.
A BJP MLA added fuel to the row saying the convicts were "Brahmins" with "good sanskar".
The controversy reached its peak after Justice UD Salvi, who had convicted the 11 men, also raised questions on the release.
"Did they ask the judge under whom the case was heard? I can tell you that I heard nothing regarding this... In such cases, the state government needs to take advice from the central government as well. Did they do that? I have no idea. If they did, what did the central government say," Justice Salvi told NDTV.
"I don't know if they went through the procedure or not," he added.
Bilkis Bano, who was five-month pregnant in 2002, was gangraped while fleeing the violence which broke out during the Godhra train carnage.
Days after the release of the convicts, the survivor had said the state government's order had shaken her belief in the justice system.
(Image of Khushbu Sundar: Twitter/Khushbu Sundar)
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