Maulana Gulam Mohammed Vastanvi, who stirred a controversy with his remarks on Gujarat, on Thursday, said he has not resigned as the vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband and a final decision on him will be taken by the governing council of the Islamic seminary.
“I have not yet resigned. A meeting of the majlis-e-soora (governing council) will be held on February 23, in which scholars from all over the country will come. I will present my case and they will decide on whether I should continue or not,” Mr Vastanvi told reporters here. “I still continue to be vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom till February 23,” he said. Mr Vastanvi, who was elected vice-chancellor on January 10, has been facing protests from students at the seminary after he reportedly said that Muslims should forget the communal riots of 2002 and move on and that the community did not face discrimination in Gujarat.
Mr Vastanvi, who is from Surat, said he did not give a clean chit to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
“My statements (on Modi) were either misunderstood or badly represented in the Urdu media. My first interview published in the newspaper clearly stated that I have not given a clean chit to Modi,” he said.
Mr Vastanvi, who arrived here from Delhi en route Nandurbar, was accorded a warm welcome by Muslim community members who had gathered in large numbers.