How dare she: Nirbhaya's mother on Indira Jaising's 'follow Sonia Gandhi, forgive rapists' remark

New Delhi, Jan 18: Asha Devi, mother of the 23-year-old medical student who was raped on a bus by four men in Delhi in 2012 lashed out at senior lawyer Indira Jaising for requesting her to "forgive" the convicts and stop their execution.

"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 did she ask for my wellbeing and today she is speaking for convicts. Such people make a living by supporting rapists, hence rape incidents don't stop," Asha Devi told news agency ANI.

"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," she added.

Nirbhaya's father said senior lawyer Indira Jaising should be "ashamed" of suggesting pardon for the four death row convicts in his daughter's gangrape case and said his family isn't as "large-hearted" as Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.

He also demanded an apology from Jaising, who is known for her stand against capital punishment.

In a tweet on Friday, Jaising said while she fully identifies with the pain of Nirbhaya's mother, she urges her "to follow the example of Sonia Gandhi who forgave Nalini and said she didn't not (did not) want the death penalty for her".

Nirbhaya's father said this is a "wrong message."

"She (Indira Jaising) is a woman herself. She should be ashamed of her comments and apologise to Nirbhaya's mother," he told PTI.

"We have been fighting the case for seven years. We are common people and not politicians. Humara dil Sonia Gandhi ji jitna bada nahi hai (We are not as large-hearted as Sonia Gandhi)," he said.

"Such mentality is responsible for the rising number of rapes," he added.