BJP harassing Azam Khan, says SP chief Akhilesh Yadav

Reacting to the allegations, Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesman Harish Srivastava said, “What can the BJP do if the court sentences someone?”

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday defended senior party leader Azam Khan and said that he had become an “eyesore for the BJP government” which was “harassing” him with false cases.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. (File photo)

Azam Khan’s Rampur Sadar assembly seat was declared vacant on Friday following his disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh assembly after a Rampur court on Thursday sentenced him to a three-year jail term in a 2019 hate speech case.

“Azam Khan is on the target of the BJP government. Every day, false cases are being registered against him and he is being harassed. Khan seems to be an eyesore for the BJP as he is a staunch rival of the communal forces, and is committed to democracy and socialism...he is a leader who has struggled for the Constitution and secularism,” Akhilesh Yadav said in a statement.

Akhilesh Yadav, who is the leader of opposition in the state assembly, also said the BJP leaders “used to get uneasy by his irrefutable logic and strong statements in the assembly”. Hence, a conspiracy was hatched against Azam Khan, the SP chief said.