Removed Vastanvi a victim of politics, says kin

While the controversy over Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi's removal from the post of Darul Uloom Deoband vice-chancellor is raging on,  his younger brother has blamed politics in Gujarat for the entire episode.

Ibrahim Vastanvi has alleged that the Congress party and its leaders hatched a conspiracy to remove his brother from the post. "By praising the Gujarat government and its development policies, Maulana Saab angered the Congress. To teach him a lesson, they plotted to remove him from the post," said Ibrahim Randera (Vastanvi), brother of Vastanvi.

According to Ibrahim, a veteran Congress leader led the entire conspiracy. He incited Darul Uloom members to create a storm over Vastanvi's words and put pressure on Majlis-e-Shura to act against him.

"That leader is behind the plot against Vastanvi. How can Majlis-e-Shura go for re-election when Vastanvi was chosen through election a few months ago? In the history of Darul Uloom Deoband, never has such an incident occurred till now," added Ibrahim.

He claimed that the V-C can't be removed without a reasonable cause, which is not what has happened in  Vastanvi's case.

While Vastanvi's image has not been harmed due to the incident, it has raised doubts about administrators of Darul Uloom Deoband, he said.

Soon after the decision of Majlis-e-Shura, Vastanvi went to London and was not available for comment. Sources close to him said that he will consult his legal advisor before taking any action against the decision of the Majlis-e-Shura.