Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia avoided a question on the recent development in the Bilkis Bano case.
On being asked why AAP is silent over Bilkis Bano and minority issues, especially since Bilkis is a Gujarati by birth, Sisodia answered, “Our main focus is on development such as education, schools, hospitals, employment.. We are more concerned about these issues.”
Twitter angry with AAP
Soon after the video went viral, many Twitteratis expressed their anger towards the double standards of the AAP party.
The AAP minister has been campaigning in Gujarat for the upcoming assembly elections which are due in December this year.
Sisodia has been allegedly accused by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam. On October 17, Sisodia was grilled by the central investigation agency for 24 hours. The deputy CM termed his questioning as a political vendetta.
Sisodia has claimed that his questioning was taking place as the BJP was “scared” of the AAP’s “popularity” in poll-bound Gujarat.
Bilkis Bano case
The Narendra Modi-led Central Government admitted in the Supreme Court that they had given a go-ahead for the release of the 11 convicts that were charged guilty of raping a five-month pregnant Bilkis and killing 15 members of her family including a three-year-old by smashing the child’s head on the ground during the infamous 2002 Gujarat riots.
According to the Centre, the decision to release was taken as the convicts had completed 14 years in prison and their conduct during their stay in jail was termed as “good behaviour”
The 11 convicts were released by the Gujarat state government, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 15 this year as India entered her 76th year of Independence.
In 2008, the 11 men accused of murder and rape were sentenced to life imprisonment by the special CBI court. The verdict was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
However, the Gujarat state government, under its remission policy, decided to free the guilty as charged. Interestingly, out of the 10 members who were part of the advisory board, five were from the ruling state government.
