Vanzara's letter issue: SP, JD (U) MPs stage walkout of Rajya Sabha

Members of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Janata Dal (United) staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday after the Chair refused permission to raise the matter relating to the resignation of suspended Gujarat Indian Police Service (IPS) officer DG Vanzara.

The Left, Samajwadi Party and JD (U) held up proceedings in the Rajya Sabha with demands for a discussion on Vanzara's letter and its implications on the Narendra Modi Government. As soon as the house met for the day, the agitating members raised the issue amidst protests from BJP benches.

They also demanded a probe into Vanzara's sensational letter critical of Modi and his close aide Amid Shah.

CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the issue has to be discussed as it is related to the country's security.

The parties walked out when the acting chairperson refused to allow a discussion.

The Gujarat Cabinet yesterday rejected Vanzara's resignation, saying that it cannot be accepted until all cases against him are closed.

Reacting to Vanzara's disclosures, Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadia yesterday lashed out at Modi, and said that the state government had been clearly implicated.

"The DIG of Gujarat, Vanzara, involved in the encounter case wrote a ten page letter in which he has pointed out lapses in the administration of Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party that is ruling the state," he told media in Ahmedabad.

In the background of these developments, Ishrat Jahan's sister Musharrat Jahan yesterday demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) must investigate the accused persons immediately and initiate strict penal action against them.

"We have been saying from day one that there is some leading person's hand behind the murder of my sister because the manner in which the case is stalled and delayed makes it clear that some powerful people are responsible. Vanzara has clearly taken names of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. We want the CBI to thoroughly investigate the matter and take stringent action against them," she said in Mumbai.

Vanzara, who is a key accused in alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and some similar cases, resigned earlier on Tuesday blaming Modi and Amit Shah for it.

In his 10-page resignation letter to the Additional Chief Secretary of Home Department, the suspended IPS officer stated that he was resigning from the service and renounced all the post-retirement benefits.

Vanzara put the entire blame on Modi and Shah, saying the two did not protect Gujarat's policemen. He stated that he was shocked to see that the state government did not back him when his name appeared in fake encounter cases.

He alleged that Shah used the police machinery for political mileage and literally ruled the state.

Vanzara has also claimed that Shah and Modi colluded to keep all police officers, accused of involvement in fake encounter cases, in jail to protect themselves.