Vanzara's letter bomb may change political equations in Gujarat

Will the spat between Amit Shah and D G Vanzara scuttle Narendra Modi's prime ministerial ambitions?

Time was when he used to pick up the telephone and dial the Chief Minister. Now, he is languishing in jail for the past six years in connection with a series of alleged fake encounter killings. The suspended DIG -- Dahyaji Gobarji Vanzara -- was also close to Amit Shah, Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s right-hand man.

 

There are several theories behind the story why Vanzara revealed it all. One theory is that self-styled godman Asaram Bapu’s arrest over the alleged sexual assault case provoked the former Gujarat top cop to write an emotional resignation letter.

The issue is particularly thorny because he allegedly kept mum when Asaram was accused of illegally grabbing 67,099 square meters of land belonging to the Gujarat government and it was reclaimed from him. 

 

A devotee of Asaram, Vanzara has penned three books of poetry titled Viyapath, Sinhgarjana and Ratankar. The poems are dedicated to the controversial guru.

 

Also, as the BJP campaign committee chief, Modi set the ground rules saying that all Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members will stick to the stance that investigations are on, and that Asaram must be dealt as per the law. It was reported that Modi didn’t want the BJP to be seen defending the controversial religious leader in the run-up to the 2014 polls.  

 

On Wednesday, the state government said it has not accepted Vanzara’s resignation. “The resignation tendered by D G Vanzara has not been accepted,” additional chief secretary (home) S K Nanda said.

 

Although Nanda did not give any specific reason, the Gujarat government’s decision may have been influenced by guidelines issued by the department of personnel and training that provide for vigilance clearance before a resignation is forwarded by the state to the competent authority at the Centre for acceptance.

 

Between 2002 and till his arrest, Vanzara was in direct contact with Shah, then junior home minister. It is Shah whom Vanzara has targeted in his letter of resignation from the IPS that became public and brought the focus back on the alleged fake encounter killings that also led to the arrest of the former minister who is now out on bail.

 

Vanzara -- lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail -- who had enjoyed 'power' when Shah was the minister of state for home, is now full of contempt for his former political boss, whom he accused of “introducing the much-despised divide-and-rule policy in the state police force.”

 

In 2007, Vanzara -- the CM’s “blue-eyed boy” --  was taken into custody by CID (crime branch) along with colleagues Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh Kumar for faking the encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh two years ago.

 

Vitthalbhai Pandya, father of former state home minister Haren Pandya who was killed in March 2003, had earlier pointed a finger at Vanzara.

 

The Gujarat top policeman reportedly took direct instructions from home minister Shah, bypassing his immediate superior inspector-general PP Pandey, who was not even kept in the loop during sensitive operations.

 

Will the Shah-Vanzara spat inadvertently scuttle Modi’s prime ministerial ambitions? A day after the Vanzara letter bomb exploded, BJP loyalists are raising questions about Shah's utility to Modi at present. They are of the view that it is in Modi’s interests to punish the man who is guilty of sullying the CM’s reputation.

 

The one common factor in the alleged fake encounter cases of Tulsiram Prajapati, Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Ishrat Jahan is suspicion over Shah. As the then Gujarat home minister, it was Shah was who was managing the police in Gujarat.

 

Shah is hanging like an albatross around Modi’s neck and the CM has to find a way to keep his trusted former home minister at arm’s length. Probably, this would take the sting out of the Opposition’s attack.

 

There is one school of thought that argues that it is a part of a larger conspiracy to polarise the polity before the 2014 elections. Vanzara could be a potential witness who can mar many a political career. So far, little proof could be furnished against Modi in courts, although his critics hold him responsible for the 2002 riots.