With a year left for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the Samajwadi Party has decided to throw its weight behind its senior leader and former Cabinet Minister Mohammad Azam Khan.
Mr. Khan, who was arrested in a forgery case, is lodged in Sitapur jail.
The party will kick-off a 10-day cycle yatra on Friday from Rampur to Lucknow in support of Mr. Khan.
Party president Akhilesh Yadav will himself flag off the yatra from the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur on March 12, the party said. Mr. Khan, the most prominent Muslim politician in the SP, is the chancellor of the university which has been embroiled in a number of controversies over alleged land encroachments.
The cycle yatra was aimed at expressing public anger at the action taken against Mr. Khan, seen as a victim of BJP government’s vendetta, said SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary.
The SP said numerous false cases were lodged against Mr Khan, his wife and MLA Tazeen Fatima and their son Abdullah Azam by the Yogi Adityanath-led government. Ms. Fatima was released from jail after securing bail last December.
The Loktantra Senani Pension received by Mr. Khan was also stopped, said Mr. Chaudhary. Started by the previous SP government, the pension was given to people who opposed the Emergency. Mr. Khan had spent time in jail during the Emergency.
