Mulayam Singh Yadav plans stir to protest ‘injustice’ to Azam Khan

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav came to the defence of senior party leader Mohammed Azam Khan, who is embroiled in nearly 80 cases slapped by the Uttar Pradesh government, saying he would hit the road to protest against the “injustice and humiliation” being meted out to Khan and that many in the BJP also viewed it as unjust.

Khan’s arrest is imminent as his plea for anticipatory bail has been rejected by the court and a battery of criminal cases for land grab and criminal intimidation have been lodged against the Rampur MP in the past three months. His wife Tazeen Fatima, also a Rajya Sabha member from the SP, had met Yadav in Lucknow on Monday and apparently complained of the lack of adequate support to Khan from the party and its top leadership, prompting the SP patriarch to hold a press conference himself.

“I have never seen this horrific level of political vendetta,” Yadav said on Tuesday, holding a press conference after more than two years in Lucknow. The SP patriarch said he would hit the road in protest for his key aide. “I appeal to all Samajwadi Party workers and leaders to launch a statewide agitation,” he said.


In a written statement, Yadav said 27 cases on serious charges had been lodged against Khan over a twobigha piece of land purchased by him 15 years ago. “How can a person fighting for rights of poor and downtrodden be zaalim (cruel) and anti-poor?” he asked.

Yadav accused the police of misbehaving with Khan’s 75-year-old sister and dragging her to a police station. He said she was critical in a hospital after symptoms of a heart attack. UP BJP spokesman Chandra Mohan said Yadav had “committed a big mistake by coming in the defence of Khan” against whom he claimed the police and district administration had acted with proof.