Centre and Gujarat Govt Must Apologise to Bilkis Bano: Asaduddin Owaisi

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday demanded that the BJP-ruled Central and the Gujarat state governments must immediately apologise to Bilkis Bano for their support to the rapists and killers, who had attacked her and killed her family members.

Speaking to reporters, Owaisi said that the Supreme Court verdict quashing the remission to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case, said the court made it clear that the Gujarat government had acted in complicity with the convicts, and at least now, the Centre and Gujarat government should step up and apologize to Bilkis Bano.

Welcoming the Supreme Court order, Owaisi said that the court was clear in its judgment that the state government did not have powers to release the convicts. The judgement should make it clear to everyone



that rapists, no matter what their political ideology, or bent is, will not be spared, he said.

"The BJP," he said, "stands exposed after having endorsed the release of the convicts."

The incident occurred when Narendra Modi was Gujarat Chief Minister, and all that talk by Prime Minister Modi about ‘Nari Shakti’ has been proven to be hollow, he said.

Owaisi also questioned Union home minister Amit Shah’s approval for the remission of the convicts and their premature release. He sought an explanation from Shah on how he gave the approval.

"This was done before the Gujarat elections, and two BJP MLAs publicly welcomed the released convicts, garlanded them and one of them even called the convicts ‘sanskaris’," Owaisi recalled.