Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav postponed his scheduled visit to Rampur to September 13-14 after the district administration promulgated Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, prohibiting assembly of four or more persons.
Akhilesh Yadav was scheduled to meet the family members of party MP Mohammad Azam Khan and protest against registration of FIRs against the senior SP leader.
Talking to the media in Lucknow on Tuesday, the SP chief said, “I was informed that 625 tazia processions are slated to be taken out on Tuesday and community feasts will be organised to mark Moharram and Ganesh Chaturthi respectively in Rampur. Hence, I have decided to postpone today’s visit to September 13.”
The Rampur district administration had written to the state government seeking a ban on the SP chief’s visit. It said that additional forces had been deployed in the district to maintain law and order.
SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav had given a call to party workers to take to the streets to protest the alleged political vendetta against Azam Khan by the BJP government.
Akhilesh also hit out at the Congress for saying that his visit would lead to communal tension.
“Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and the local administration are all the same. The BJP is Congress and Congress is BJP as they are not different from each other,” Akhilesh said.
The SP chief added, “The state government, too, is giving the impression that our visit will spark riots in the city. Our request to get a PWD guest house was denied and we have been asked to stay in a hotel during the next visit.”
Months after the break-up with Bahujan Samaj Party, Akhilesh said that his party would be contesting the 2022 Assembly polls on its own.
On being asked to comment on the BSP, the former chief minister said, “I will not speak anything about the BSP. We will be contesting the 2022 Assembly elections on our own.”
Indicating tie-ups with smaller parties instead of big ones for the bypolls to the 13 Assembly seats, Akhilesh said, “Our experience with big parties is not hidden from anyone, hence we might be looking for tie-ups with smaller parties.”
