Ahmedabad:
The BJP in Gujarat has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission asking that ousted Vice-Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi be barred from entering the state. This following his allegedly provocative comments against chief minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a public rally organised by the minority cell of the Congress at Tarkeshwar in Mandvi taluka of Surat district yesterday, Vastanvi had said it was a crime to praise a "zalim" (tyrant) and that he never praised Modi.
"To praise a 'zalim' (tyrant) is a crime. I never praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi," Vastanvi said.
BJP national vice-president Purushottam Rupala said the use of words "zalim" (tyrant) against Modi and asking Muslims to vote for Congress is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The Election Commission should take strict action against him for using such words."
BJP's media cell convenor Jagdish Bhavsar said "the statements made by Vastanvi, during a Congress party minority cell programme in Surat, are provocative and harmful to the state's peaceful atmosphere. We have complained to the EC to bar Vastanvi from entering Gujarat".
Ironically, Vastanvi was removed from the post of vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband, the second largest Islamic seminary in the world, for praising Modi's development policy in January 2011.