Akhilesh, Azam strike pose of unity in Rampur
Former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, who was released from jail last month, says he is available for Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav met the party’s senior leader Azam Khan for the first time on Wednesday post Khan’s release from jail last month, with the two leaders striking a posture of unity during the nearly two-hour-long meeting in Rampur.
Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, Yadav alleged that false cases were slapped against Khan and his family. The former chief minister asserted that all the cases against Khan and his family will be taken back after the SP government is formed in Uttar Pradesh in 2027.
Speaking about his relationship with Akhilesh, Khan said, “Two generations of life are linked to this (Samajwadi Party) family. My entire life has passed there, and now the next generation’s life is also connected. The bonds of relationships must remain strong.”
After the meeting, Akhilesh praised Khan: “Azam Sahab is a senior leader whose profound influence has always been with us. Azam Khan is like a tree for our party. It seems the party wants to create a world record of false cases against Azam and his family. This is a significant fight, and we will face it together.”
“We could not visit Azam in jail earlier due to time constraints. Today, we have come to check on him, and all grievances have been resolved. We will continue to meet regularly,” Yadav said.
Azam Khan personally received Akhilesh earlier in the day. Both leaders travelled together in the same car to Khan’s residence. Yadav flew from Lucknow by a private plane at 11.30 am, reached Bareilly airport and then travelled by helicopter to Jauhar University in Rampur, landing at 12.45 pm.
After meeting Akhilesh, Azam spoke to the media in his usual confident style: “The beauty of our relationship remains the same even today… the passion for love has now become an ocean…”
For his part, Akhilesh said, “Azam Khan is a veteran leader whose contributions are invaluable. He has built a university that educates the country’s future.”
“Azam, his wife, son, and family have faced more cases than any family before. The 2027 government will amplify the PDA’s voice, and the false cases against Azam will be withdrawn,” he added.
Akhilesh also noted that even in the Supreme Court, a judge was disrespected.
“What happened in the Supreme Court also sends a message -- that people from the PDA (backward people, Dalits and minorities) are being insulted time and again. In the assembly too, I have said that PDA families are continuously being humiliated under this government,” he said .
While Khan remained silent during this remark, Akhilesh later left with him in a car for the helipad.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Khan said he will be available for the Samajwadi Party in whatever capacity he can and that he has no issues as such with Akhilesh Yadav.
“It was my responsibility to receive Akhileshji from the helipad so I went to receive him. He had come to take stock of my health and well being. My wife is in Delhi for her medical treatment and my son is in Allahabad for some legal work. Today’s time is better than what it was yesterday. There is no issue with Akhilesh Yadav at all. I will be available for the Samajwadi Party in whatever capacity I can.”
Azam Khan was released from the Sitapur jail on September 23 after the Allahabad high court granted him bail in the Quality Bar land-encroachment case, where his name was added during a reinvestigation nearly five years after the FIR was filed.
A political stunt, says UP minister
Uttar Pradesh minister of state for minority welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj, Danish Azad Ansari called Akhilesh Yadav’s meeting with Azam Khan a mere political stunt.
Ansari said, “When Azam Khan was in jail, SP and Akhilesh Yadav did not remember him. Today, the SP leader is reaching Rampur with the intention of misleading Muslims.”
Ansari said society is seeing that this is a political stunt. He asked when the top SP chief last met Azam and answered that they met during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, adding that Akhilesh remembers Azam only to seek votes and mislead Muslims.
The minister claimed that all is not well between Akhilesh and Azam.
“Azam Khan spent years in jail, but Akhilesh never visited him. Now, with assembly elections in Bihar and then Uttar Pradesh coming up, Akhilesh is resorting to this pretence to mislead Muslims,” he said.
He said that the Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav never speak of the interests of Muslims, but rather know how to exploit them politically.
“When it comes to education, health, and employment, the Samajwadi Party doesn’t remember Muslims. The Muslim community has come to understand that the Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav have no place for them in their hearts,” he said.
SP chief feared Azam-Shivpal alliance against him: Rajbhar
Uttar Pradesh panchayati raj minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party president Om Prakash Rajbhar called SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s meeting with Azam Khan a move driven by political compulsion. Rajbhar said that despite Azam Khan spending 23 months in jail, Akhilesh never visited him even once.
Now, after his release, Akhilesh has suddenly remembered him, he said. Taking a jibe, he said, “Azam Khan’s condition was that Akhilesh should come and bow before him, and Akhilesh did exactly that.”
On a sarcastic note, Rajbhar remarked that Akhilesh’s visit stems from fear that Khan and Shivpal Singh Yadav could join hands and create trouble for him, as both leaders still wield significant influence within the SP. He added that Akhilesh’s concern about a possible split in the party is evident.
