Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, on Friday, alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government has unleashed vendetta against senior party leader Mohammad Azam Khan, who is presently lodged in Sitapur district jail after his conviction by a Rampur court in October 2023.

Akhilesh Yadav met Azam Khan in Sitapur jail on Friday. He had gone to Sitapur for consultation for deciding the party candidate for Rampur and Moradabad Lok Sabha constituencies.

After meeting Azam Khan, Akhilesh Yadav said several issues were discussed, including the candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Azam Khan is a former Member of Parliament from Rampur. 

Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatma, a former MP, and son Abdullah Azam, a former MLA, were convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail in a 2019 case of alleged forgery in Abdullah’s birth certificate case.

Azam Khan has so far been convicted in five cases.

Akhilesh Yadav said the Bharatiya Janata Party government had created a record of sorts by framing Azam Khan in a large number of fake cases to harass him.

He said that Azam Khan and Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal were being targeted by the BJP as it was scared of their popularity.

Expressing his faith in the judiciary, the SP chief said, “I am confident that Azam Khan will get justice.”

Akhilesh Yadav said that the Supreme Court verdict on electoral bonds had exposed the true character of the BJP, which amassed huge wealth through these bonds.

Akhilesh Yadav also condemned the government’s decision to keep Azam Khan and his family members in separate jails after the court convicted them in the fake birth certificate case, terming it as a move to “harass” the party leader’s family.

While 75-year-old Azam Khan was shifted to Sitapur district jail, his son Abdullah Azam was moved to Hardoi district jail.

A Rampur court on Wednesday convicted Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatma and son in a 2019 fake birth certificate case, and sentenced them to seven years in jail. Fatma is lodged in Rampur jail.

“The way the vicious cycle of harassing the family of Azam Khan is going on is highly condemnable. Separating family members (in jails) is an old practice of those in power and is not justified under any circumstances on the basis of age. Everyone has stood together in his (Azam’s) struggle for justice and will continue to do so,” the SP chief said.