Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan made a controversial statement while speaking to the media on Friday. When asked about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s claims of making the state mafia-free and fear-free, he said, “The mafia number one is standing in front of you.”
“Mafia number ek khada toh hoon aapke samne, main khada toh hoon aapke samne. Mujhse bada mafia kaun hai?”
Which roughly translates to: “The mafia number one is standing before you. Who is a bigger mafia than me?”
He further said, “Main toh misaal hoon, aur mere baad sadiyon tak misaalein di jaayengi. Aapke bachche apne bachchon ko sunayenge aur batayenge ki ek aisa daur bhi Hindustan mein aaya tha.”
Which translates to, “I am an example, and for centuries people will speak of me. Your children will tell their children that such a time had once come in India.”
Notably, a special court on Friday acquitted the former Uttar Pradesh minister. The case was linked to allegedly spreading enmity, misusing an official government letterhead and seal and making defamatory remarks against the BJP, RSS and prominent Shia cleric Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi.
Khan also met SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav at his residence. Yadav shared pictures of the meeting on X and wrote,"Who knows how many memories they brought along with them When they came to our home today! This harmony and meeting is our shared heritage."
Azam Khan, a founding member of the SP, has been jailed multiple times since 2020.
