India: AITUC DEMANDS REARREST OF RAPISTS AND MURDERERS OF BILKIS BANO CASE

AITUC DEMANDS REARREST OF RAPISTS AND MURDERERS OF BILKIS BANO CASE

All India Working Women Forum of AITUC registers the most vehement condemnation on the release of the rapists of Bilkis Bano. Gujarat government has released the 11 criminals serving life sentence for the heinous crimes of rape and murder in the infamous Bilkis Bano gang rape case. The release that was recommended by the committee under the Gujarat remission policy is in violation of the Union Government's guidelines for remission.These guidelines exclude those who are convicted for rape and murder for the benefit of remission.They, in any yardstick, do not deserve consideration for early release. AIWWF - AITUC, while condemning the release, very strongly urges upon the Union government to intervene to withdraw the release of these convicts - rapists and murderers.

In a weird dichotomy of sorts the Prime Minister, in his Independence day address from the ramparts of the red fort, talks of respecting 'narishakthi', on the same day his own party led government releases the rapists. The Machiavellian manoeuvres of the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi scale newer heights day by day. Deceptive double talk of 'beti bachao' is flagrantly exposed yet again. This release is a double jeopardy of gender and religion. Odious blend of gender prejudice and communal hatred of the Hindutva ideology has reached a crescendo. Yet, the Prime Minister masquerades as the messiah of the masses shamelessly. Nothing that happens is casual. Everything is conscientiously done with the particular knowledge of the Prime Minister. This is dangerous for the country. The Prime Minister must take the moral responsibility and owe an apology to the nation before setting right the wrong done in the release of the criminals.

Ironically this is the real face of the 'New India' that Mr Modi boasts of. This is indeed a disgraced and ignominious reality that India is dishonourably faced with. The premature release of the rapists brings more outrage now than the wretched pain and desolate anguish of the blood curdling act of gang rape of Bilkis Bano, a pregnant woman and the brutal killing of her family including her three year old daughter. This release is an affront against the doctrine of justice and a slur on the constitutional commitment to protect women. All India Working Women Forum of AITUC terms the release of the rapists and murders as shameful, outrageous and condemnable and demands immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the release and reincarceration of the criminals.

Convenor,

All India Working Women Forum of AITUC

& AITUC Secretariat