Akhilesh condemns ‘persecution’ of Azam Khan at meeting with family

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday (November 11, 2024) met family members of jailed party leader and 10-time former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Azam Khan in Rampur and alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is attempting to humiliate and frame the jailed leader on fake charges. “Mohammad Azam Khan Saheb is facing a campaign of injustice. The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to humiliate and frame him on fake charges; never has such injustice been done to one family,” said Mr. Yadav, while talking to reporters in Rampur. Mr. Yadav, who addressed an election rally for the Kundarki by-poll in Moradabad district, was in Rampur to meet Tazeen Fatma, wife of the jailed leader. 

Mr. Yadav visiting Rampur is believed to be a signal that he stands with the Muslim community, whose leading face is Mr. Khan. The SP president added the people are eagerly waiting for the bypolls to defeat the BJP for its anti-farmer, anti-poor policies. “Time is very powerful, and the time has come for the public to teach the BJP a lesson. The public is waiting for a chance to cast their vote,” added Mr. Yadav. Indirectly referring to Mr. Adityanath’s campaign statements as ‘anger’,” the SP president claimed these are attempts to protect his position as CM. “This anger that the government is displaying is the anger you feel when you are trying to save your chair. The people have decided that after the Maharashtra elections, his chair will be taken away,” said the SP leader. Nine assembly seats, including Sisamau in Kanpur, Katehri in Ambedkar Nagar, Kundarki in Moradabad, Ghaziabad, Majhwan in Mirzapur, Karhal in Mainpuri district, Khair in Aligarh, Phulpur in Prayagrah, and Meerapur in Muzaffarnagar district, will witness byelections on November 20.

Since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh, more than six dozen cases have been registered against Mr. Khan. The charges include cheating, land-grab, and criminal conspiracy, among others. The jailed leader has been convicted in four cases.