Vanzara letter: CPI(M) demands that Modi step down

CPI(M) today asked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to step down and sought his prosecution following charges levelled against him and his government by jailed IPS officer D G Vanzara.
"Narendra Modi should be prosecuted in the concerned cases and should forthwith step down from office. .... In the meanwhile, the bail of Amit Shah should be cancelled," the CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement here.
It also demanded a Supreme Court-supervised inquiry to "uncover the full facts" in the CD case relating to the purported conversation of some BJP leaders on the killing of Tulsiram Prajapati, "so as to file criminal charges against those involved."

Referring to the contents of Vanzara's 10-page resignation letter, the party said it "confirms in the most direct way what was known to most citizens of this country, that the killings were executed with the full knowledge and direction of those leading the Gujarat Government."
Terming as "a chilling exposure" that encounter killings were "an intrinsic policy of the Gujarat Government against terrorism," it said Modi's "numerous statements at the time justifying the killings, fit in perfectly with Vanzara's defence."
It said, "The efforts of the BJP leadership including its MP and spokesperson Prakash Javadekar in trying to sabotage the processes of justice have been revealed in a CD which has been aired on several channels and widely reported."

"His references to Modi make it doubly clear that the Chief Minister was in full knowledge and, therefore, in connivance with the efforts to manipulate the case in their favour," the major Left party said.
The episode "once again highlights the utter contempt that the BJP and its leadership, including Modi, have for the Constitution and the law of the land," it charged.