New Delhi: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Supreme Court’s Bilkis Bano verdict, saying his promises to bolster women empowerment in India were hollow. Referring to the court’s strongly worded rejoinder to the Gujarat government for releasing Bano’s rapists prematurely, Owaisi claimed the BJP government helped rapists in the state.

“I welcome this judgment and I hope it acts as a precedent against all rapists in the future. Just because you affirm a political ideology, you will not be set free. When Narendra Modi talks about nari shakti, it is a hollow claim. They are standing with the rapists of Bilkis Bano. BJP governments in Gujarat and Centre, both helped in releasing these people — they should speak up and apologise to Bilkis Bano,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Asaduddin Owaisi also pointed out that two BJP MLAs had endorsed the release of the convicts in 2022.

“From Day 1, I have been saying that the BJP, instead of standing with the victim, has always stood with the perpetrators who committed this heinous crime. It is Bilkis Bano who fought so bravely and also put her life on the line. The same Gujarat government that could not protect her, gave an order to release these convicts who raped her and killed her child,” he was quoted by ANI as saying.

Also read: Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court says Gujarat government ‘usurped power’

Bano was 21 years old and five-months pregnant when she was gang-raped during communal violence in 2002. Several members of her family, including her toddler daughter, were killed by a mob.

The Gujarat government last year released the 11 convicts on the grounds that they had completed fourteen years in prison and that their behaviour inside the jail was good.

The Supreme Court today said the Gujarat government wasn’t competent to take the decision as the trial took place in Maharashtra. The court also said the Gujarat government had usurped power.

“Rule of law is breached because the Gujarat government usurped power not vested in it and abused its power. On that ground also, the remission orders deserve to be quashed…We strike down the remission orders on the ground of usurpation of power by the Gujarat government,” the bench said, PTI reported.

Reacting to the ruling, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said justice has ultimately prevailed.

Also read: Bilkis Bano case: SC scraps Gujarat govt’s remission, convicts sent back to jail

“With this order, the veil over the anti-women policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party has been removed. After this, public confidence in the justice system will be further strengthened. Congratulations to Bilkis Bano for continuing her fight bravely,” she said in a post in Hindi on ‘X’.

With inputs from agencies