Will remission of Bilkis Bano convicts be revoked? Trinamool's Mahua Moitra says this

On August 15, the Gujarat government, under its remission policy, set free all the 11 convicts, triggering massive outrage and criticism.

Published on: Aug 19, 2022, 24:56:35 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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Amid widespread demands that the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case – who were set free by the Gujarat government on August 15 under its remission policy – be sent back to prison to serve out their life imprisonment, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, in a jibe at the BJP, which is in power in the state and the Centre, said that the party rolls back its decisions only under pressure: from the right wing or due to elections.

A man offers sweets to people convicted for rape and murder in the Bilkis Bano case of the 2002 post-Godhra riots, after they came out of the Godhra sub-jail after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy, in Godhra, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. (PTI Photo)(

Also Read | Now, BJP MLA says Bilkis Bano's rapists ‘are Brahmins with good sanskaar’

“BJP govt doesn't roll back anything because it is right thing to do. It only rolls back under pressure from right wing or pressure from impending elections,” Moitra said in a tweet late Thursday.

The parliamentarian from Bengal, who is a vocal critic of the BJP-led Union government, and has also had her share of run-ins with the the saffron party, attached with her tweet a clip of her interview with NDTV in which she made the said statement.

Also Read | Release of rapists has shaken my faith in justice, says Bilkis Bano

Moitra was referring to events that transpired on Wednesday, when the Union home ministry clarified it had not given any directions to provide flats to Rohingya illegal migrants in New Delhi. The clarification came hours after housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Puri put out a tweet, stating that all Rohingya refugees will be shifted to economically weaker section (EWS) flats in Bakkarwala in the national capital.

Puri's announcement led to massive furor among BJP supporters and the right wing on social media.

Also Read | Rahul targets PM over release of Bilkis Bano gangrape convicts: ‘what message..’

Similarly, in November last year, prime minister Narendra Modi, just months ahead of the February 2022 assembly elections in five states, announced withdrawal of the three contentious central farm laws; the BJP won in four out of the five states, including in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh.

Gujarat – the home state of both PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah – is slated to go to polls in December. The BJP has been in power here for more than two decades, including four stints as chief minister for Narendra Modi, between 2001 and 2012. He stepped down in September 2013 after being announced as the party's prime ministerial for the 2014 general elections, and went on to win two consecutive terms as the prime minister.

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HT News Desk
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