TMC MP Mahua Moitra has severely criticised the decision to release Bilkis Bano's rapists.
Taking a swipe at the Gujarat government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mahua Moitra, the Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament, today came down heavily upon the decision to release from prison the 11 men who had been convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang rape incident during the Gujarat riots in 2002.
Ms Moitra, the TMC MP from Krishnanagar, today tweeted, "This nation had better decide whether Bilkis Bano is a woman or a Muslim."
Ms Moitra is known for her outspoken nature on social media platforms and has often been very vocal on crucial socio-political issues - whether it is the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, or the gang rape and murder of a minor girl at Hanskhali village in the Nadia district of West Bengal in April this year.
The decision to release the 11 men convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case, who were all serving life sentences in Godhra sub-jail, has drawn nationwide outrage and protests, as video footage of the convicts being feted with garlands and sweets upon their release from prison went viral on social media.
The family of Bilkis Bano was terrified after the Gujarat government released the 11 rapists on Monday, which happened to be Independence Day. "The Supreme Court, the Bombay High Court gave orders and still ... In just one move, our fight of 18 years is over. We are scared. We weren't informed about the release," Bilkis Bano's husband Yakub Rasul had told NDTV in an exclusive interview earlier.
A committee formed by the Gujarat government had come to a unanimous decision in favour of remission, following the state's own policy of 1992. The matter had passed to the state after one of the convicts approached the Supreme Court. The court had asked the state to look into the issue.