Politics not untouchable for me: ex-cop Vanzara

Retired IPS officer D G Vanzara, an accused in the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan, today hinted that he was not averse to joining politics.
Stating that he lacked "resources" to form any new outfit, Vanzara, recently discharged by a Mumbai court in the alleged fake encounters of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsi Prajapati, also took a veiled swipe at the ruling BJP over development of Gujarat.
Though Vanzara refused to commit whether he would contest the upcoming assembly polls in Gujarat, due later this year, he told his supporters at a programme in Gandhinagar that he is already their "uncrowned king".

"People want to know what I plan to do? What will I do, which party will I join, or will I float a new party? I have been in the jail for several years, so I do not have the resources to float a new party. But about my feelings I must tell you that for me politics is not untouchable," he said.
Vanzara said he always remained "number one" in whatever he did.
"Wherever I have gone, I became number one among my friends and supporters...Even when I was arrested (in encounter cases), I was treated as the number one accused. DG Vanzara has always been number one wherever he has been, so he will be number one wherever he goes in the future," he said amid cheering by his supporters.

"People would say about Gandhiji that he was the uncrowned king. You (my supporters) have already made me the uncrowned king, so why should I opt for anything smaller?" he asked.

In a veiled swipe at the BJP which has been at the helm in Gujarat for over the last two decades, Vanzara said a government with its powerful machinery needed only one term to transform Gujarat into Dubai or Singapore, provided it has the "right intention" to do so.
"If the government has the right intention, then in only five years Gujarat can become Singapore and Dubai. You do not need to come to power for several times to achieve that. Five years will be enough.

"If the purpose of your life is serving the public and politics happens by chance then you can bring about great positive changes in just five years," he said.
Before securing bail in 2014, Vanzara remained in jail for around eight years for the alleged fake encounters which took place when he was a serving police officer in the state.
He is awaiting trial in the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others in 2004.