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Akhilesh Yadav alleges Azam Khan an eyesore for BJP govt
Azam Khan’s Rampur Sadar assembly seat was declared vacant on Friday on 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.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday defended his senior party leader Azam Khan and said the veteran politician had become an eyesore for the BJP government which was harassing him with false cases.
Azam Khan’s Rampur Sadar assembly seat was declared vacant on Friday on 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 with his irrefutable logic and strong statements in the assembly”. Hence, a conspiracy was hatched against Azam Khan, the SP chief said.
Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the BJP was annoyed because Azam Khan built a high-end educational institution, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, in Rampur, which will allow the youth to move forward.
About the Kumbh 2013 which was held in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) when Azam Khan was the Uttar Pradesh urban development minister, Akhilesh said: “He had provided ample facilities for pilgrims which were praised by saints and seers. Even Harvard University had praised the successful organising of the Kumbh.”
“The BJP government should remember that there is no place for enmity in politics. The ruling party and the opposition have an equal role in a democracy. He (Khan) has been MLA from Rampur 10 times and MP thrice. He also held ministerial posts. The BJP’s conspiracy to sideline him in politics will come down heavily on them,” he said as quoted in the SP statement.
Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesman Harish Srivastava said, “What can one say about Akhileshji’s statements? What can the BJP do if the court sentences someone? As for the charge of fake cases being levelled against Azam Khan, if he is innocent he has nothing to fear anyway. Isn’t it?”
