Hours after Supreme Court advocate Indira Jaising asked Asha Devi, mother of the 2012 horrific Delhi gang rape victim, to follow Sonia Gandhi’s footsteps and pardon death penalty for her daughter’s rapists, Asha Devi has hit out on Jaising.
Asha Devi: Can’t believe how Indira Jaising even dared to suggest such this. I met her many times over the years in Supreme Court,not once she asked for my wellbeing& today she is speaking for convicts.Such ppl earn livelihood by supporting rapists,hence rape incidents don’t stop https://t.co/Gjf02l9LT4 pic.twitter.com/Rl3sMbppl5
— ANI (@ANI) January 18, 2020
Reacting sharply to Jaising’s appeal, Asha Devi said that it is because of people like her that justice is not done with rape victims. “Who is Indira Jaising to give me such a suggestion? Whole country wants the convicts to be executed. Just because of people like her, justice is not done with rape victims,” Asha Devi was quoted by news agency ANI.
Shocked at Jaising’s audacity, she further said that she couldn’t believe Jaising would even dare to suggest such a thing. “I met her many times over the years in Supreme Court, not once she asked for my wellbeing and today she is speaking for convicts. Such people earn livelihood by supporting rapists, hence rape incidents don’t stop,” she said.
Last night, Indira Jaising had given Asha Devi an example of Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi and urged her to forgive her daughter’s rapists and pardon their death penalty the way Sonia Gandhi had forgiven and pardoned Nalini, a convict in Rajiv Gandhi assassination. Nalini was arrested and convicted for the assassination of former Prime Minister and Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Nirbhaya, on the other hand, was brutally gang-raped by six men in a moving bus in Delhi seven years back. After fighting for her life for days, she breathed her last. Nirbhaya’s rape and created a nation-wide outrage and raised concerns for women’s safety in India.
Read: Indira Jaising crosses the line, withdraws her remark, says sorry to the CJI
Indira Jaising had made the request shortly after Asha Devi on Friday expressed her disappointment following a Delhi court postponed the date of the execution of the four convicts. On January 17, Asha Devi had expressed disappointment with the courts and government after the date of execution of her daughter’s rapists was postponed by a Delhi court. “I am disappointed with the courts, government and the whole system. I do not know if they will be hanged or the date of their execution will be further extended,” she was quoted as saying by ANI.
The death-row convicts who were earlier slated to be executed on January 22 at 7 am will now be hanged on February 1 at 6 am. The new date of execution was announced after two convicts Mukesh Singh and Vinay submitted curative petitions. On Friday, the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh was rejected by the President.
