By TCN Staff Reporter,
Deoband: The controversial rector of Darul Uloom Deoband, the biggest Islamic seminary in the sub-continent, Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi said that he will accept the decision of Majlis-e-Shura based on the report by the 3-member panel that was constituted to enquire the allegations against him.
“I will accept the findings of the three-member committee and also the decision based on that by the Majlis-e-Shura whatever it may be,” Maulana Vastanvi has been quoted as saying in the media.
Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi
Maulana was in Deoband for few hours on 13 March where he met working rector Maulna Abul Qasim Nomani and other officials. It was his first trip to Deoband after the committee was constituted to probe allegations against him.
Talking to media he said that the situation in the seminary has improved now and there is no controversy here anymore. “I will continue to work for the betterment of the seminary” he added.
Notably, Majlise-e-Shura, the governing body of the seminary, in its meeting on 23 February 2011 constituted a 3-member committee to look into the allegations against Vastanvi and also other related issues that occurred inside and outside the seminary after appointment of Vastanvi as rector in January this year.
The 3-member committee comprises members of the Shura — Mufti Ismail (from Maharashtra), Mufti Manzoor Ahmed (Kanpur) and Maulana Ibrahim Malik (Tamil Nadu). The committee will start its probe by the end of this month and submit its report to the Shura for final decision.
Maulana Vastanvi was elected as rector of the seminary on 10th Jan. by majority of the votes but soon after appointment his opposition was started. His praising words for the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his advice to the Muslims that they should forget communal riots of 2002 and move on not only earned him criticism from several quarters of the community but also created unrest at the seminary with students staged dharna demanding his resignation.
To put an end to the controversy a special meeting of the Shura was called on 23 February where Vastanvi offered his resignation but the Shura put his resignation on hold and formed a 3-member committee to inquire the whole matter and submit its report. The Shura also appointed Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani as working rector. Though Maulana Vastanvi claimed that he is still rector, the sources at the seminary said that he was sacked at the meeting itself and the formation of panel is only formality.