Poll officer seeks report on Vastanvi speech

Gandhinagar : The chief electoral officer of Gujarat has asked for a report on the controversial speech by ousted vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband, Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi, at a Congress function at Mandvi in Surat district on Sunday.

The BJP had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission and demanded that Vastanvi be barred from entering Gujarat for his alleged provocative utterances against Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

“We have asked for a report from Surat district electoral officer. We will take a decision after we receive the report,” said additional chief electoral officer Sanjiv Kumar.

Addressing a rally organised by the minority cell of Congress at Tarkeshwar in Mandvi taluka of Surat district on Sunday, Vastanvi had reportedly called Modi a “zalim” (tyrant).