Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav Meets Azam Khan In Rampur jail, Accuses BJP Of Political Vendetta

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday met senior party leader Azam Khan at Rampur jail and accused the BJP government of subjecting Khan and his family to unprecedented injustice through what he described as false cases.

After the meeting, which lasted around an hour, Yadav said no political family had suffered as much injustice as Khan's family.

“Azam was, Azam is and Azam will remain,” Yadav said, asserting that the cases against the veteran leader would not be able to suppress the truth forever.

Yadav alleged that false cases had been filed against Khan, forcing him to spend several years in jail. He said the truth might take time to emerge, but false allegations could not keep it imprisoned indefinitely.

The two leaders also discussed Khan's health and his current circumstances. Yadav described his relationship with Khan as an emotional bond and said his visit to Rampur was not his first, underlining his longstanding political and personal association with the region.

Taking aim at the BJP over its alleged attitude towards education, Yadav said the party had little regard for knowledge or universities. Referring to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, established by Khan in Rampur, he alleged that the institution had been deliberately undermined.

“The BJP has nothing to do with education or knowledge. It does not care about universities either. The university has been completely ruined,” Yadav said, alleging that efforts had been made to destroy the institution.

He further claimed that the damage inflicted on education was unprecedented and said even authoritarian governments had not caused such devastation in the sector.

The meeting assumes significance given Khan's long association with the Samajwadi Party and his influence in Rampur and western Uttar Pradesh. One of the party's founding leaders, Khan has played a prominent role in the region's politics for decades.

Yadav's strong public defence of Khan is also significant in the context of the party's political positioning ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. By highlighting the cases against Khan and the fate of Jauhar University, the SP chief sought to portray the action against the veteran leader as an instance of political vendetta.

The BJP has not responded to Yadav's latest allegations.