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‘False cases can’t keep him imprisoned forever’: Akhilesh backs Azam Khan after meeting in Rampur jail
After an approximately hour-long closed-door meeting, Akhilesh told reporters: “I have just met Azam Khan. Azam was, Azam is, and Azam will remain.” He added that no family, particularly no political family, had faced as much injustice as Azam Khan’s.
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With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections just months away, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday visited founding member and senior party leader Mohammad Azam Khan at Rampur district jail, delivering a strong public endorsement of the veteran leader’s continued importance in state politics.
The visit came amid speculation in recent months that Khan was unhappy with Yadav and the SP leadership, lending significance to the meeting ahead of the assembly polls.
After an approximately hour-long closed-door meeting, Akhilesh told reporters: “I have just met Azam Khan. Azam was, Azam is, and Azam will remain.” He added that no family, particularly no political family, had faced as much injustice as Azam Khan’s.
Accusing the BJP-led state government of framing fabricated cases against Khan, Yadav said false cases could not keep the veteran leader incarcerated forever.
“These false cases do not have the power to keep him imprisoned forever. It may take time and there may be some delay. But false cases do not have the power to keep the truth imprisoned,” he said.
He also alleged that the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur had been deliberately ruined as part of a conspiracy. “Even a dictatorial government would not have caused such devastation to an educational institution,” Yadav said, adding that the SP would fulfil Khan’s dream for the university.
Describing the visit as both political and personal, Yadav said his bond with Rampur was emotional as well as political. He said the two leaders discussed Khan’s health, the party’s strategy for the 2027 elections and the political situation across all 403 assembly constituencies in the state.
Yadav said Khan’s health had improved, although the hardships of jail continued to affect him. He added that Khan had not sought any specific seats for the upcoming elections but had offered suggestions on the party’s strategy, which had been taken on board.
Yadav later visited Khan’s residence and met his family, including his wife, Tazeen Fatma.
Azam Khan remains an influential figure in the SP’s support base among Muslims, particularly in western Uttar Pradesh. He has been lodged in Rampur district jail following convictions in multiple cases, including the dual PAN card case.
Reacting to the visit, BJP chief spokesperson Dinesh Pratap Singh accused Akhilesh of approaching Khan for political reasons.
“Akhilesh Yadav Ji, the Muslim community of Uttar Pradesh is no longer going to be misled by you. Today, the affection you suddenly show towards Azam Khan is not out of genuine love or affection; it is merely to use him as a stepping stone for your politics of appeasement,” Singh said.
Akhilesh Yadav last met Azam Khan at his official Lucknow residence on November 7, 2025. Before that, he visited Khan at his Rampur residence on October 8, 2025, following the veteran leader’s release from Sitapur jail. On March 23, 2024, Yadav visited Khan at Sitapur jail ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to discuss party strategy and candidate selection for Rampur and Moradabad. On September 30 last, Tazeen Fatma met Yadav in Lucknow.
