Akhilesh to visit Azam Khan on Oct 8; UP minister says 'Muslims will not be misled' by this

Lucknow (UP): Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav will visit Rampur on October 8 to meet party founder member Azam Khan, who was recently released from jail after approximately two years.

"We have finalised the visit, and I will be going to meet him," Yadav stated when asked about his plans to visit Rampur.

According to party sources, Yadav will depart for Bareilly via private plane from Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport and will then travel to Rampur by car. He is expected to be accompanied by Rampur MP Mohibulla Nadvi, who was given a ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Khan's wishes.

Khan, who was released from Sitapur jail on Tuesday, firmly rejected speculations about his joining the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

A ten-time MLA from Rampur, Khan faces several criminal charges, including allegations of land grabbing and corruption, which he claims are politically motivated. His recent release followed the Allahabad High Court granting him bail last week in the Quality Bar land encroachment case, where his name was added during a reinvestigation nearly five years after the FIR was filed.

The 77-year-old spent only about a day and a half at his Rampur residence before departing for Delhi late Wednesday night, accompanied by his younger son, Abdullah Azam Khan. While supporters gathered at his home seeking to meet him, no senior SP leader visited. Only Haji Rizwan, a former SP candidate from Kundarki Assembly, and Mohammad Faheem, an MLA from Bilari, met with Khan.

Khan also visited Johar University before leaving for Delhi in a private car. His close aide Rizwan Khan informed reporters, "Azam Khan sahab is going to Gangaram Hospital in Delhi for a medical check-up. He needed to see doctors, so he was sent to Delhi without delay."

On Tuesday, Akhilesh Yadav vowed that all "false" cases against Khan would be withdrawn once the SP comes to power in Uttar Pradesh, stating that Khan has "finally got justice."

He criticised the ruling BJP, claiming, "Those who file false cases should now learn that every lie has an expiry date."

Meanwhile, UP Minority Welfare Minister Danish Azad Ansari, the state government's lone Muslim minister, addressed the cases involving Azam Khan and fellow SP leader Irfan Solanki, who is also embroiled in legal issues.

Speaking to reporters in Ballia on Thursday, he said, "The court sent them to jail. The court is releasing them. The government has no role in this. Evidence was presented in court, and the judicial process took its course. How does the BJP government have any role?"

Ansari also criticised the SP for mobilising support around Azam Khan, asking, "Why did the SP not remember him when he was in jail? The SP has deceived not just Azam Khan but every Muslim in the state. Now that he is out, the party has again started playing on emotions, but Muslims will not be misled. His own words show how much pain he feels in his party."

Regarding Khan's future in the SP, Ansari remarked, "The path to power seems to be the only aim for Muslims in the SP. The party has always misled and kept people in ignorance, blocking their development and exploiting emotions for political gain."

On Wednesday, Khan, while briefly interacting with reporters, expressed confidence, stating, "I have faith that I will come out clean. I am confident that I will get justice from the high court, and if not, from the Supreme Court. Perhaps that stage will not come."

Dismissing rumours about him switching to BSP, the SP founding member remarked, "We have something called character. Character does not mean whether we hold a post or not; it means people love and respect us. And we are not for sale, we have proved that."

Regarding speculation that Shivpal Singh Yadav might visit him, Khan remarked with emotion, "I have spent five years alone in a small cell. The feeling of waiting for someone has died."

When asked if he would remain with the SP, Khan replied, "What is the question of not remaining?" He also dismissed any speculation about contacting the BSP, telling reporters, "You don't even understand that much!"

On October 9, BSP supremo Mayawati is set to hold a massive rally in Lucknow to commemorate the death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshiram, leading to speculations that Khan might join the BSP during this rally.