With Abdullah Azam, son of senior leader Azam Khan who is in jail, by his side, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of targeting his leaders with “fake cases” over the past five years.
The police action against Nahid Hasan, SP’s MLA and candidate for the Kairana seat in west U.P. who was arrested under the Gangster Act and sent to 14-day judicial custody, was a part of that chain, Mr. Yadav said at a press conference. Mr. Abdullah Khan is expected to contest the 2022 Assembly election and by showcasing him at a press conference, he tried to indicate his support for the Khan family which has tremendous clout in Rampur. Mr. Azam Khan has often been described as the Muslim face of the SP and was key part of the previous SP governments.
Mr. Abdullah Khan, who had won the Assembly election from the Suar seat in Rampur in 2017, was released from the Sitapur jail on bail on Saturday. He had been booked for cheating among other charges and in 2019, the Allahabad High Court declared his election as null and void on grounds that he was not of valid age, 25, when he filed his nomination.
Mr. Azam Khan, Lok Sabha MP from Rampur, is still behind bars. He faces several cases lodged against him by the Rampur administration after the Yogi Adityanath government came to power.