Close on the heels of Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Burq accusing his party of not working for the cause of Muslims, supporters of Mohammad Azam Khan, the Muslim face of the party, have accused SP chief Akhilesh Yadav of ignoring the Rampur MLA.
They also accused Akhilesh Yadav of occupying the post of leader of opposition instead of choosing Azam Khan, a ten-term MLA, for the coveted post.
Akhilesh Yadav, who won from Karhal in Mainpuri in his maiden assembly election, was appointed leader of opposition in the Uttar Pradesh assembly in March after he was unanimously elected leader of the SP Legislature Party.
“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s comment was right that Akhilesh Yadav does not want Azam Khan to be out of jail. Azam Khan was instrumental in making Mulayam Singh Yadav chief minister of UP three times and also Akhilesh Yadav. What has Azam Khan got in return after his over four decade long association with the SP?” said Fasahat Khan while addressing a meeting at Rampur on Sunday night.
Fasahat Ali is close aide and media incharge of Azam Khan in Rampur.
Accusing Akhilesh Yadav of ditching Azam Khan in his hour of crisis, Fasahat said, “Azam Khan is in jail for over two years but Akhilesh Yadav visited him in jail only once.”
He alleged that the Yogi Adityanath government had unleashed a reign of terror against Azam Khan, his wife and son as all were sent to jail, but Akhilesh Yadav did not utter a word against the UP chief minister in last two years over this issue.
“Moreover, Akhilesh Yadav specifically ignored Abdullah Azam, son of Azam Khan during the assembly elections,” Fasahat Khan alleged.
He claimed the SP would have got a clear majority in UP assembly had Akhilesh Yadav trusted and deployed Abdullah Azam as a star campaigner of the party.
“Samajwadi Party wants Muslims to vote for it en block and also work as party cadre and do all kinds of jobs during the elections. When the Muslims are unfairly targeted by the police and they are framed in false cases and sent to jail, then Akhilesh Yadav maintains a conspicuous silence,” Fasahat Khan alleged.
Fasahat claimed that one the direction of Azam Khan, the Muslims not only in Rampur but also in several districts, voted for the SP, but Akhilesh Yadav was hesitant in fighting for the cause of the Muslims when they were in trouble.
SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, "I am not aware of any such meeting or comment. Azam Khan is with the SP and the SP is with him."
Azam Khan`s wife Tazeen Fatma is a former MLA and former Rajya Sabha member while his son Abdullah Azam Khan won the Suar assembly seat in Rampur.
Azam Khan has been winning the Rampur seat since 1980. He lost only in 1996 to Congress. Tazeen Fatma won the Rampur seat when Azam Khan vacated it after winning the Rampur Lok Sabha seat in 2019. On March 22, Azam Khan resigned as Rampur MP to retain his assembly seat. This was done on the same day on which Akhilesh quit as SP`s Azamgarh Lok Sabha member to retain his Karhal assembly seat.
Azam Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February 2020 in connection with various cases filed against him during the Yogi Adityanath regime in Uttar Pradesh. The former minister of Uttar Pradesh contested the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election from behind the bars and won the Rampur seat for the tenth time.
