Vanzara letter: Cong calls Gujarat bandh for Modi's resignation

Ahmedabad: Raising the pitch for the resignation of Narendra Modi-led BJP government in the wake of the letter by suspended IPS officer D G Vanzara, opposition Congress today called a statewide bandh on September 6. In a media briefing held here, Congress leaders also alleged contents of a sting operation conducted on BJP leaders showed Gujarat government had provided a “safe passage” to the “chief conspirator” of former Home minister of state Haren Pandya’s murder. “Sohrabuddin Shaikh’s associate Azam Khan is seen to have revealed that Gujarat government has helped a safe passage to Mufti Sufiyan, who is considered the main conspirator of the murder of former Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya,” alleged state unit Congress president Arjun Modhwadia. The sting operation claimed to have “exposed” a plan by senior BJP leaders to save the Gujarat Chief Minister’s key aide Amit Shah in Tulsi Prajapati fake encounter case.

“A series of incidents in the last couple of days have revealed the conspiratorial face of this BJP government. This BJP government should resign immediately and with that demand we are also appealing to people to observe a state-wide bandh on coming Friday,” Modhwadia said. Referring to the contents of Vanzara’s letter in which he announced quitting of IPS, Modhwadia alleged “the ten-page letter of Vanzara has not only opened the eyes of whole country but has shaken the people of Gujarat”. Vanzara, an accused in a string of alleged fake encounter killing cases, has accused Modi of abandoning him and other officials despite the fact that they were merely implementing the conscious policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards terrorism of the state government. The letter came as a major embarrassment for BJP and Narendra Modi who is pitching for a national role.

PTI