NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has welcomed the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court that quashed the remission given to eleven convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case.
The CPI-M asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Indian and Gujarat governments had acted in complicity with the convicts.
The Supreme Court, in its Monday verdict, exposed the Gujarat government’s illegal actions of granting remission to the convicts involved in the gang rape of pregnant Bilkis Bano during the 2002 anti-Muslim riots.
The court ordered the convicts to surrender back to prison within two weeks. The CPI-M statement highlighted that the court mentioned a fraud played by the Gujarat government in justifying the remission order and emphasized the need to prevent convicts from circumventing the consequences of their conviction for the sake of peace and tranquility in society.
The party also pointed out that the involvement of the Central government, as indicated by the Gujarat government, makes the Modi government equally complicit in this matter. The CPI-M emphasized that governments must adhere to constitutional principles and the rule of law to safeguard democracy.
