Zadafia was a close associate of the VHP chief
Praveen Togadia in Gujarat unit of VHP. He is reported to have been inducted as a Minister in the Modi cabinet as a sop to the latter for his support of Modi's chief ministership. Zadafia is accused of involvement in the
2002 Gujarat riots by posting police officers sympathetic to VHP in strategic positions and accused of helping unleash violence. He transferred police officers such as
Rahul Sharma. On his orders, police raided refugee camps claiming that they housed rioters. After the December 2002 elections,
Narendra Modi dropped him from the cabinet to signal a break with the VHP. Zadafia subsequently floated a new political party, Mahagujarat Janata Party (MJP) during the 2007 assembly elections in Gujarat, later merged into the
Gujarat Parivartan Party of former chief minister
Keshubhai Patel. During the 2012 assembly elections, Togadia and VHP activists campaigned hard for the
Gujarat Parivartan Party against the BJP. Despite all efforts, Zadafia and his team lost the 2012 elections. The VHP support for Zadafia ended up strengthening
Narendra Modi's anti-hardline Hindutva image. The
Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioned Zadafia thrice regarding his role in the 2002 riots. Following reports that SIT had found evidence against him and senior police officers, it was reported that Zadafia was inclined to testify against Modi. Following pressure from RSS leaders, Zadafia refrained from such a move. On 24 February 2014, Zadafia rejoined the BJP and merged
Gujarat Parivartan Party into it. == See also ==