'Repugnant, revolting': Congress slams BJP over remission of convicts in Bilkis Bano case

The Congress on Tuesday came down heavily on the Narendra Modi government after it came to light that it cleared the premature release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, saying the "stain" of the "repugnant, reprehensible and revolting" act can never be washed off.

Senior lawyer and party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said it is clear that the "sole underlying calculation" for the Modi Government was a "raw political one" despite its "desperate and clumsy attempts" to justify this "embarrassing and demeaning action".

"The grant of premature release to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case is a stain on this government’s legacy that will never wash off. It is repugnant, reprehensible and revolting, that an elected Government in a democracy chose to release these convicts in such a cavalier manner," he told a press conference.

Singhvi was responding to the "shocking revelations" in the affidavit the Gujarat government filed in Supreme Court which said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had given its “concurrence and approval” for the release of convicts in the gangrape of Bano and the murder of her child and family members.

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The Modi government had maintained a "studied and deliberate silence" on the release but the facts have come out following the affidavit in the Supreme Court, he said adding the order to release the convicts on August 15 had invited "legitimate criticism the world over and exposed our system to widespread shame and ridicule".

"Not only was the MHA aware of the release but that it actually supported the same, in defiance of objections by senior officials of the CBI and a Special Judge. The fact that the Modi Government actively suppressed this fact shows that even it was aware that the action was a condemnable one," Singhvi said.

Posing three questions, Singhvi asked why has the Modi Government, despite the objections of senior officials, sought to grant preferential treatment to individuals convicted of heinous crimes. He also wanted to know whether the Modi government has decided to pardon all convicted rapists and child murders who have served a certain period.

"Will such treatment be granted to all individuals who are accused of heinous offences? Or was this a limited time offer contingent on the upcoming elections?" he said in apparent reference to upcoming Gujarat elections.

"There are many compromises in politics. But the BJP has made the greatest compromise of all. A sacrifice of the last shred of conscience that separated them from those craven and venal elements who prize solely their own political survival over all else," he said.

Insisting that the Modi government's decision was political, he said the panel that had ordered the release had cited dubious justifications such as the convicts belonged to “Brahmin” and “sanskari” families for their release and even opined, without any basis or justification, that the convicts may have been “intentionally framed”.

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"What it had not said was that the MHA had granted its approval for such premature release," he said.

He also pointed out that the convicts were felicitated by members of organisations which profess fellowship with the BJP. Persons associated with the ruling party even made faltering and feeble attempts to justify this unjustifiable and craven decision.

"The threat to Bilkis Bano’s life that such a decision posed was never considered. In fact, it was the direct and serious nature of the threats from the convicts in question, that the Supreme Court even interfered and transferred the case from Gujarat to Maharashtra. Yet the prime consideration, the safety of the accused, was simply not a factor for consideration, either by the panel or the Modi Government," he said.

"All these prove beyond a shadow of doubt that the release was a political decision made with not just the knowledge but the concurrence of those in the highest echelons of power in the Modi Government," he added.