Continuing its tirade against the state Governor Ram Naik, the Samajwadi party reiterated that the parliamentary affairs minister Azam Khan will remain the member of the council of ministers. SP also attacked the BJP for sending the unedited copy of the proceedings of the state assembly to the Raj Bhawan.
"Azam Khan under the leadership of Mulayam Singh Yadav has fought a valiant battle against the communal forces and enjoys the full confidence of the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’’, said the SP spokesman Rajendra chowdhary here on Sunday.
"Azam Khan is in the habit of speaking the truth and has the guts to call a spade a spade. The truth spoken by Azam Khan may sound unpalatable to some, but he can never hurt the dignity of the office of the Governor or any other constitutional institution and he had always been sincere towards democratic institutions’’, said Rajendra Chowdhary.
Praising Azam Khan, the SP leader said `` Azam Khan is respected leader for his secular credentials and during the recently concluded budget session of the assembly all the parties barring the BJP have showered their praise on Azam Khan’’. SP leader also accused the BJP of furnishing the copies of the proceedings of the state assembly to Raj Bhawan, SP leader reiterated that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav have full faith in the abilities of Azam Khan. He said Azam Khan had won global appreciation for the way he organised the 2013 Kumbh Mela in Allahabad.
The state Governor Ram Naik on Friday had written to the state assembly speaker Mata Prasad Pandey saying that Azam does not deserve to be a parliamentary affairs minister for making derogatory remarks against the Raj Bhawan on the floor of the assembly on March 8. Azam Khan had criticised the questioned the integrity of the Governor for not giving his assent to the bill passed by the state assembly curtailing the financial powers of the Mayors. The Speaker, Azam Khan along with other 15 other MlAs are on a 17 days study tour to Australia, New Zealand and Japan at present. They are likely to return to state capital in mid April.
The ruling party on Saturday had rejected the demand of the Governor for the removal of Azam Khan from the cabinet. SP had said on Saturday that ```Its uncalled for to raise questions on the talent and competence of Azam Khan, whose public life had been an open book and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav trusts him. It appears that that character assassination has become the prime object to attack a political party with ideologies and ethics have lost relevance’’,
The Governor Ram naik had however defended his stand on Saturday saying "it was his constitutional duty to keep a watch on the functioning of the state government’’.
Meanwhile the SP has condemned the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand and termed it as a violation of Constitutional norms by the Centre.
The SP spokesperson and political pension minister Rajendra Choudhury said here on Sunday that the way the President's rule was imposed in the hill state is a clear violation of the democratic and Constitutional norms.
"When the Harish Rawat government was given time till March 28 by governor to prove his majority in the floor of the house then why the President's rule was imposed suddenly without giving the Chief Minister an opportunity to prove his majority on the floor of the house ," said Choudhury .
“The apex court had settled long ago by ruling that then issue of the majority of the government should only be decided on the floor of the house and nowhere else. But in Uttarakhand case all norms have been violated," he added.
The SP leader said the act of the Centre was arbitrary and it proves that BJP has no faith in democracy." SP will certainly oppose such undemocratic approach of the Central government," he said.