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Akhilesh visits Rampur to meet Azam Khan, denies any rift with party veteran
Akhilesh Yadav met with Azam Khan post his jail release, emphasizing unity and support against BJP's alleged false cases, amid political speculation.
Meerut/Lucknow: Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav met party’s senior leader Azam Khan on Wednesday, the first time after the former SP MP was released from jail last month, with the two leaders striking a posture of unity amid speculation of a rift between Khan and the SP leadership.
Soon after Khan was released from the Sitapur jail on September 23 after the Allahabad high court granted him bail in the Quality Bar land-encroachment case, Yadav had announced that he would go and meet Khan.
Khan personally received Akhilesh earlier in the day. Both leaders travelled together in the same car to Khan’s residence. Yadav flew from Lucknow by a private plane at 11.30am, reached Bareilly airport and then travelled by helicopter to Jauhar University in Rampur, landing at 12.45pm.
After a nearly two-hour-long meeting, Yadav slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state. He alleged that false cases were slapped against Khan and his family and assured that all cases will be taken back after the “SP government is formed in Uttar Pradesh in 2027”.
Speaking about his relationship with Akhilesh, Khan said, “Two generations of my family are associated with (Samajwadi Party) family. My entire life has passed there, and now the next generation is also connected to the party. The bonds of relationships must remain strong.”
Akhilesh showered praise on Khan, one of the founding members of the SP and a close aide of his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav. “Azam Sahab is a senior leader who has a profound influence on us. It seems the party (BJP) wants to create a world record of false cases against Azam and his family. This is a significant fight, and we will face it together.”
“We could not visit him in jail earlier due to time constraints. Today, we have come to check on him, and all grievances have been resolved. We will continue to meet regularly,” Yadav said.
Khan also stressed that his ties with the party have remained strong. “The beauty of our relationship remains the same even today… the passion for love has now become an ocean…”
Defending Khan against allegations of irregularities in the construction of Jauhar University in Rampur, Yadav said, “Azam Khan is a veteran leader whose contributions are invaluable. He has built a university that educates the country’s future.”
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Khan said he will be available for the Samajwadi Party in whatever capacity he can and added that he has no issues with Akhilesh Yadav.
“It was my responsibility to receive Akhileshji at the helipad. He had come to take stock of my health and well being. My wife is in Delhi for her medical treatment and my son is in Allahabad for some legal work,” he said.
Azam Khan was released from the Sitapur jail on September 23 after the Allahabad high court granted him bail in the Quality Bar land-encroachment case, where his name was added during a reinvestigation nearly five years after the FIR was filed.
Uttar Pradesh minister of state for minority welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj, Danish Azad Ansari, however, called Yadav’s meeting with Khan a “political stunt”.
“When Azam Khan was in jail, SP and Akhilesh Yadav did not remember him. Today, the SP leader is visiting Rampur to mislead Muslims,” Ansari said, adding that Akhilesh remembers Azam only to seek Muslim votes.
Uttar Pradesh panchayati raj minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party president Om Prakash Rajbhar said Yadav went to meet Khan “out of political compulsion”. Rajbhar alleged Yadav did go and meet Khan when the former Rampur MP was in jail for 23 months.
He claimed that Akhilesh’s visit stems from fear that Khan and Shivpal Singh Yadav could join hands and create trouble for him.
