 "BJP isolated on Vanzara letter")
One of those charged with murder in a fake encounter case, he quit after indicting Chief Minister Narendra Modi, alleging he’d been let down by the state government and the CM, despite acting at their behest. Parliament, especially the Rajya Sabha, was disrupted repeatedly as the Left parties, the Janata Dal (United) and the Samajwadi Party joined in demanding this “important” issue be taken up, leading to a storm of protest from the BJP benches.
Since Parliament convened in the morning, the Opposition targeted the government and the Prime Minister over the missing coal files while TDP members raised the Telangana issue, leading to disruptions. However, Vanzara’s letter saw a coming together of “secular forces”. CPM senior Sitaram Yechury was on his feet highlighting the issue of the “damaging letter”; he was supported by the JD(U)’s Shivanand Tewari and Samajwadi Party’s Naresh Agarwal. Due to the protest that ensued, with the BJP alleging a “state matter” could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house had to be adjourned at least on five occasions after lunch.
As Left MPs stormed the well of the House, demanding the matter be taken up, the chair pleaded for “order”. The CPM Politburo had on Wednesday morning itself issued a statement demanding "Narendra Modi should be prosecuted in the... cases and should forthwith step down from office... Meanwhile, the bail of Amit Shah should be cancelled.” Terming Vanzara’s letter "a chilling exposure", the CPM stated the “killings were executed with the full knowledge and direction of those leading the Gujarat government." Directly charging the “BJP and its leadership, including (Narendra) Modi” of disregarding the Constitution and the law of the land, the CPM demanded Modi should step down.
What was significant was the spirited protests by the BJP’s former ally, the JD(U). After ending its 17-year alliance on the growing clout of the “non-secular” Modi, the JD(U) now appears to be inching closer to the Congress-led UPA . It was evident as the JD(U)’s Sabir Ali's vociferous sloganeering on the issue even earned the ire of the deputy chairman.
SP leader Naresh Agarwal questioned how the BJP could stop the House from taking up this issue. The SP relies heavily on a Muslim votebank and was quick to join forces on an issue isolating the “communal” BJP. The SP has been wary of the BJP’s “communalising agenda” in Uttar Pradesh with the saffron party’s renewed interest in reviving its temple agenda and Amit Shah’s foray’s into UP.
While the ruling Congress party in its official press briefing highlighted the Vanzara letter, underlining “Narendra Modi stood exposed”, the Congress was restricted in its protests on the floor of Parliament, as it was keen to get the crucial Land Acquisition bill cleared and could not afford to have repeated adjournments. Nonetheless, as soon as the House met, some Congress members were on their feet, displaying banners that read "Chief Minister Gujarat Must Resign".