Former Vice-Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi,  who was sacked and heavily critisized for praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi some times back and retracted on his words and called him Zalim, a tyrant.
Vastanvi  became a centre of controversy in early 2011 after his comments regarding development’s positive impact on Muslims in Gujarat were interpreted as praise for Narendra Modi, the state’s Chief Minister.
Students from Deoband college staged a sit-in demanding his immediate resignation, which Vastanvi gave on 25th Jan 2011 at Deoband.
Yesterday, addressing a public rally organised by the minority cell of Congress at Tarkeshwar in Mandvi taluka of Surat in Gujarat , Vastanvi  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.
Reacting to this, Gujarat’s ruling BJP has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission seeking to bar ousted Vastanvi from entering the state
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 Election Commission to bar Vastanvi from entering Gujarat”.
“Maulana Vastanvi has used the platform of Congress party to incite communal passions among various communities and tried to create a rift in state’s communal amity,” Bhavsar added.
“Vastanvi’s utterance of wrongful words against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC),” Bhavsar said, adding the Surat BJP unit has demanded his arrest and strict action.
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 MCC. The Election Commission should take strict action against him for using such words.”