Will continue to remain Diwan till I die: Ajmer shrine head

While denying all the reports of being "sacked" by his brother Sayed Alludin Alimi over his "blasphemous" statements in support of ban on cow slaughter, Ajmer sufi shrine's spiritual head Syed Zainul Abedin on Wednesday said he will continue to remain the Diwan of the Dargah till his last breath, adding that all this is a manufactured plot against him.

Quoting the Supreme Court's judgement of 1987, Abedin said his younger brother has no authority to remove him, adding that under no law can he do so.

The Ajmer Dargah Diwan said he has always been a target of the extremists due to his outspoken nature and speaking only the truth.

"The news which is circulating based on my statement is distorted. Some news channels are telecasting false news and are creating myth in the minds of the people. The wrong statements which have made are very unfortunate and are a blot on the world-popular Dargah. I have always been a target of the extremists and have always been unhappy by my tendency to speak truth, whether be it Shariyat issue, gau vansh, triple talaq or any other national issue. I have always condemned the attacks held in Jammu and Kashmir," Abedin told the media here.

Abedin further alleged that because the small-minded extremists could not digest his statements on cow slaughter ban and triple talaq, they used his family against him.

"The emblematic people have always been unhappy with me coming forward with blunt statements. When they couldn't do anything they tried to make my younger brother stand against me. Neither does my brother have any power nor authority. How can he remove me? I am the diwan according to the Supreme Court ruling. I am the Diwan, was since 1975 and will remain so till I die," he said.

Abedin's son Naseeruddin said nobody has the right to neither appoint the Diwan nor sack him.

"He will remain the Diwan till he dies. After his death, as per the Supreme Court judgement, he would be succeeded by his eldest son. His statements have always been in favour of the nation," he said.

Amid growing protests against the Uttar Pradesh Government's decision to ban illegal slaughterhouses, the spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah earlier on Monday asked the Muslim community to refrain from consuming cow meat.

Speaking to ANI, the spiritual head urged the government to legislate a special law and ban illegal slaughterhouses across the country.

"It is fine if we do not eat cow, we are not depriving ourselves from anything. Moreover it causes diabetics. I would appeal for complete ban in cow meet. The government has to make banning cow slaughter," Khan said.

Following Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's order on closing down on illegal slaughterhouses, several states, including as many as five of the BJP-ruled states have followed in for the closure of illegal abattoirs across the country.