Narendra Modi not forgiven: Deoband chief clarifies

Under pressure from community leaders, Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi, the newly elected chief of Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, on Sunday retracted his earlier remarks on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying the latter was not forgiven for the 2002 riots and persecution of Muslims.

“Modi will not be forgiven by anyone. Even Allah will not forgive him,” said Vastanvi.

“I cannot say that [his earlier remarks]. People cannot forgive him for what happened eight years ago,” he said.

Vastanvi said the media had misinterpreted and distorted his remarks on Modi and Gujarat and issued a public apology.

According to earlier media reports, Vastanvi had said majority of Muslims in Gujarat are happy and prospering and asked members of the community to leave behind Godhra riots and move on.

He was quoted in media saying “I believe that most of the Muslims in Gujarat are prospering.”

“Excluding a few, who are embroiled in one case or the other, most of them are happy with their work. Their financial condition is also good,”he was quoted in an interview.

He had reportedly said that Modi was elected by the masses and as such he cannot give any opinion on him.