New Delhi: Controversial former Gujarat IPS officer DG Vanzara termed himself “a giver and not a beggar” and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of giving “importance to only rajsatta (political reign)” while launching his own Hindutva-based political party in the state that is set to hold assembly elections next month.
The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for almost three decades now.
The 1987-batch police officer, who was dubbed an “encounter specialist” in the wake of extrajudicial murders that took place while he was heading the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad, had — according to a BJP source — “been trying to get a BJP ticket to fight the Gujarat election”.
“He was miffed when the party did not entertain him despite him recently working overtime to consolidate his Hindutva credentials,” said the source.
Vanzara Tuesday launched Praja Vijay Party, which he said would contest in all 182 assembly seats in Gujarat and “would not hesitate in fielding sadhus and religious gurus as they are part of society”.
Speaking to the media, he said that “people of Gujarat do not easily accept a non-Hindutva party. Only a Hindutva party can provide an alternative to the BJP. Today, I want the people of the state and the country to know that ‘Praja Vijay Party’ is a Hindutva party”.
He added that “while the BJP is only giving importance to rajsatta, Praja Vijay Party will give importance to rajsatta along with dharmsatta (religious authority)”.
Vanzara, who was believed to be close to former Gujarat chief minister and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Amit Shah, also told the media that he was not “a person to stand in a queue to get an election ticket but one who gave away tickets instead”.
“I am a giver, not a beggar,” he asserted.
This story was originally published in theprint.in . Read the full story here