A file photo shows Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav with senior party leader Azam Khan.
Azam Khan, a 10-time MLA from Rampur Sadar and former cabinet minister, has been among the SP’s most prominent Muslim leaders. In March 2024, shortly before the Lok Sabha elections, he met Khan at Sitapur jail to discuss political strategy and party candidates. He had also visited him in February 2020, when Khan, his wife and son Abdullah Azam were lodged there. On October 13, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Khan at Rampur jail as part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation linked to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. Khan has also been sentenced to two years in prison in a case relating to alleged objectionable remarks about government officials during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.
Because of his Muslim identity, he further alleged that Yadav was exploiting Khan. The SP chief has also promised to regularise Shiksha Mitras as full-fledged teachers if his party returns to power, saying a separate budgetary provision would be made if necessary. (With agency inputs) You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Lucknow | Silver Rate in Lucknow | Bank Holidays in Lucknow | Public Holidays in Lucknow | Lucknow AQI | Weather in Lucknow | Petrol Price in Lucknow | Diesel Price in Lucknow | CNG Price in Lucknow | LPG Price in Lucknow Stay updated with the latest Lucknow news.
Azam was, Azam is, and Azam will remain,” Yadav told reporters after meeting Khan, adding that false cases could not keep the truth imprisoned forever. “I have just met respected Azam Khan. Yadav has visited Khan in jail on previous occasions. The probe concerns the alleged diversion of government contract funds through private contractors and their subsequent use, including for the creation of assets linked to the trust and the university. The Rampur visit comes amid an intensifying political confrontation between the SP and the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Yadav has recently accused the BJP government of electoral malpractice, alleging that Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (BSAs) and district inspectors of schools (DIOSs) were intimidating people and facilitating electoral manipulation. He has urged the Election Commission to ensure impartiality in the electoral process. Download the TOI App.
He has been lodged in Rampur district jail since November last year following his conviction in a forgery case. The ED had earlier conducted searches at premises linked to Khan in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. RAMPUR/LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party SP president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday met senior party leader Azam Khan at Rampur district jail, accusing the BJP government of targeting the veteran leader through false cases and alleging that his family had faced unprecedented injustice.
A day earlier, Om Prakash Rajbhar described Akhilesh’s meet with Azam Khan an attempt to woo Muslim voters ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. “What kind of strategy could Akhilesh Yadav possibly devise with someone who is currently incarcerated, facing nearly 100 criminal cases, including charges of corruption and document forgery?
Yadav arrived at Rampur after landing at the Jauhar University helipad, where he was received by Khan’s family members and party workers, before proceeding to the district jail, according to news agency PTI. “No family, particularly no political family, has faced as much injustice as the family of respected Azam Khan,” he said. Questioning the cases against the veteran leader, Yadav said, “These false cases do not have the power to keep him imprisoned forever. “Our relationship with Rampur is political as well as emotional,” Yadav said, adding that his visit to the town was not the first. But Akhilesh Yadav has forgotten that Muslims will no longer spread the carpet for him,” Rajbhar said, according to news agency ANI. “He was in jail for so long, but Akhilesh never went to meet him,” Rajbhar said. Kashyap told ANI.
He is also scheduled to visit Khan’s residence to meet his family. Speaking after the meeting, Akhilesh alleged that Khan had been subjected to injustice through a series of false cases and accused the BJP of undermining education and knowledge. It may take time… there may be some delay. But false cases do not have the power to keep the truth imprisoned. He also criticised the alleged demolition of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, an institution associated with Khan, claiming that the action against it reflected a wider attack on education. They are trying to secure Muslim votes with the help of Azam Khan. BJP leader Narendra Kashyap also accused Yadav of political opportunism, claiming that the SP chief was seeking to use Khan’s political standing for electoral gains rather than genuinely supporting him.
Rajbhar also accused Yadav of failing to visit Khan when he was previously lodged in jail, alleging that the cases against the senior SP leader had been registered during the former chief minister’s tenure. “They are going today just to create an election gimmick.