LUCKNOW: Irked over the way his party has dealt his case, jailed Samajwadi Party flagbearer and MLA Azam Khan met Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam in Sitapur on Monday. After his brief meeting with Khan, Acharya Pramod said that Khan was a victim of politics.
“The harassment being faced by Azam Khan will have a bearing on the politics of the country in the days to come. He has been put behind bars in cases like goat stealing… Khan would be out of prison soon after the court decides his case,” the Congress leader said. He also presented Azam Khan a copy of the Bhagwad Gita ‘as book of justice’. Citing the case of SP MLA, Krishnam also said that ‘being a Muslim in this country is a crime now’ while adding that the senior MLA was being ‘targeted and tortured’.
Asked whether the leader is joining the Congress, Krishnam said he is a well-wisher of Khan and his family and there was nothing political in his jail visit. The visit came at a time when SP president Akhilesh Yadav is facing criticism for ignoring the Muslim community. Voices of dissent have already come from the Khan camp against the SP leadership. Khan had reportedly refused to meet Akhilesh’s emissary Ravidas Mehrotra on Sunday.
Earlier, on Friday, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) leader Shivpal Yadav too had met Khan who is jail for the last two years in connection with cases that include theft, encroachment and criminal intimidation. On Sunday, Gonda’s BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said he too would meet Khan whenever he goes to Sitapur.
The 10-time MLA from Rampur Sadar seat Azam Khan has been the Muslim face of the SP since its inception.
