The Supreme Court on Monday is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on petitions challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the case of the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members during the Gujarat riots.
A Bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan on October 12 last year reserved its verdict after an 11-day hearing on the petitions, including the one filed by Bano.
While reserving the judgment, the top court directed the Centre and the Gujarat government to submit by October 16 the original records related to the remission of sentence of the 11 convicts.
In context: Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the communal violence that broke out after the Godhra train-burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the riots. All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on August 15, 2022.
The apex court came down heavily on the Gujarat government during the hearings and questioned its selective approach, as reported by The Indian Express.
Crucial Congress meetings
A day after formally beginning seat-sharing talks with INDIA allies, the Congress’s national alliance committee will meet Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Atishi, Sandeep Pathak, and Saurabh Bhardwaj in Delhi on Monday.
While the AAP has signalled it is willing to have a seat-sharing pact with the Congress in Punjab, the state unit of the Congress believes any truck with the AAP, which is in government in the state, will be politically disastrous for it and has pushed back against any efforts to ally. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann had weeks ago dismissed the question of allying with the Congress but recently seems to have softened his stand on the issue. But the registration of a fresh case against Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira can again cause tension between the two parties in the state to boil over.
Meanwhile, the Congress in Telangana will begin district-wise strategising for the Lok Sabha polls on Monday. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who is also the state Congress president, has set the party an ambitious target of winning 12 of 17 parliamentary seats in the state. According to sources, the party has divided the state’s districts into clusters with each cluster having five districts. On Monday, leaders from one cluster are scheduled to meet.
Schedule of PM and top Union Ministers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Gujarat from Monday to Wednesday, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit at 9.45 am on Wednesday and meet with the CEOs of top global corporations.
Gujarat, under the leadership of CM Shri @Bhupendrapbjp, is all set to host world leaders, policy makers and industry captains on a global platform, the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024’ – the first of Bharat’s ‘Amrit Kaal’, to be inaugurated by the honourable PM Shri… pic.twitter.com/JQjtiFsZ7R
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) January 6, 2024
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a two-day visit to the UK on Monday to rejuvenate strategic and security ties between the two countries, including possible collaboration to jointly develop fighter jets and other military platforms.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who also holds the Cooperation portfolio, will chair the National PACS Mega Conclave on Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in New Delhi during the day.
Meanwhile, in Rajasthan and Karnataka
The result of the Karanpur Assembly constituency in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district, polls to which were deferred following the death of the Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar, will be announced on Monday.
The result will not in any way affect the stability of the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led BJP government as the party stormed to power winning 115 of the 199 seats that went to polls However, the result has turned into a prestige issue for the BJP as its candidate Surender Pal Singh has already been inducted into the Cabinet.
The Karnataka BJP will huddle up on Monday to strategise for the parliamentary polls. The meeting comes against the backdrop of reported discontent in the party over the appointment of B Y Vijayendra, son of former Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa, as the state chief. Sources said deliberations will be held to minutely tweak the strategy employed during the Assembly polls in which the party was trounced. The BJP won 26 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019.
— With PTI inputs