Zafar Sareshwala Decries Communal Colour Given to Markaz Gathering

“This is without malice... no ulterior motive. It’s pure misjudgment,” he said.

Businessman and social activist Zafar Sareshwala.

(Photo: The Quint/screengrab)

A former chancellor of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University, businessman and social activist Zafar Sareshwala has condemned the "communal colour being given by certain sections of the media” to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering at Nizamuddin, which became a hotspot for the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Speaking with The Quint, Sareshwala said, “It’s very painful that some quarters and a few media houses have given it a communal colour.”

“For the past 70 years, they have been having their congregations at this centre. At any given point of time there have been three four thousand people at these congregations,” he explained.

‘An Error of Judgement, No Malice’

“I would call this an error of judgement on part of the authorities at Nizamuddin Markaz, because several people, including me, had advised them against it,” Sareshwala said.

“By the time they woke up, the trains had been suspended, there were no flights. So they were caught in that situation.”

Zafar Sareshwala

He claimed that the police were totally aware of the happening at the Markaz since they have a separate division to keep track of Tablighi work.

"In this case no Jamaat has entered india after 31 December. So, this is without malice... no ulterior motive. It's pure misjudgement,” he said.