Lucknow/Sitapur, April 24 (UNI) Amid the ongoing turmoil within the party, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday broke his silence on senior leader Mohammad Azam Khan and said that the party was with him. Akhilesh said, “SP is with Azam.
Whatever legal help is needed, the party will get for him, but injustice was meted to him by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which deliberately posted such officers there, so that injustice could be done and false cases could be slapped against him.” The SP chief feigned ignorance about the party delegation, which went to meet Azam in Sitapur jail. “I don’t have any information about who went there,” he said.
Earlier in the day, a delegation led by SP MLA from Lucknow Central seat Ravidas Mehrotra went to meet Azam, who is currently lodged in Sitapur jail, but the senior leader reportedly refused to meet. Reports said that the delegation waited for nearly half an hour. Later, Mehrotra said, “We have been told by the administration that Azam Khan’s health is not good. He has fever and is sleeping after taking medicines. He cannot even come to the place where inmates meet the visitors.” He alleged that it was clear that the state government does not want them to meet Azam.
“We will fight on the roads and in the state Assembly for Azam and our agitation will continue till he is released,” he said. Speculation is rife from the last several days that Azam is not happy with SP chief Akhilesh and the manner in which the party has reacted to his arrest.
Recently, Pragati sheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) president Shivpal Singh Yadav had said that SP does not seem to be helping or struggling for the cause of senior most leaders of the party, including jailed MLA Mohammad Azam Khan, which was unfortunate.
After meeting Azam, who is currently lodged in Sitapur jail, Shivpal had said, “Azam bhai is the seniormost leader of the party. He is 10 times MLA and has been a member of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
“There is no other member senior than Azam bhai in the Vidhan Sabha, but it does not look that SP is helping or struggling for him and it’s unfortunate. “I can’t see SP helping Azam. It should have done so.
In fact, SP members in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha should have sat on dharna under the leadership of Netaji (SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav), then Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have definitely heard what Netaji is saying. Everyone knows, even the country knows how much respect the PM gives to Netaji.”
