Samajwadi Party's Azam Khan fears Atiq Ahmed-like fate for himself
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, while campaigning on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur for the upcoming municipal elections, expressed his apprehension that he, too, might be shot dead like gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed. According to the news outlet NDTV, Khan stated, "What do you want from me and my children? Do you want someone to come and shoot us in the head?"
Why does this story matter?
Khan's remarks come after three individuals shot dead Atiq and his brother Ashraf Ahead in front of cops and the media outside a Prayagraj hospital on April 15. Both were accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. While the Yogi Adityanath government earlier claimed to be "cleaning" the mafia from UP, it is also under scrutiny over allegations that the brothers' murder was staged.
Khan reportedly takes aim at BJP
Khan further attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which is in power in UP and the Centre. "Those who are saying today that the municipality is on contract, they had put the whole country on contract, Red Fort has been sold, airports have been sold, ports have been sold, railways have been sold, what is left? Only the army is left," he claimed.
Khan campaigning for SP candidate in Rampur
The 72-year-old, who has been suffering from a prolonged illness and was hospitalized earlier this month, took to the election scene for the first time in a while to campaign for the upcoming civic polls in the state. To note, the veteran politician was campaigning for SP candidate Fatima Zabi on Saturday, who is contesting for the presidential post of the Rampur Municipality.
SP leader also hits out at PM Modi
"Vazir-e-Azam (Prime Minister Narendra Modi)...has mentioned your Rampur Assembly seat in a Hindustan of 150 crore people, this is your status," Khan said while campaigning in Rampur. "There is so much fear of you...this fear is not of any caste, nor of my being a minister, nor of my being an MP or MLA, but it's the fear of our unity," he added.
We will cast our vote, it's our birthright: Khan
The SP leader spoke about his own disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in October after being sentenced to three years in prison by a court in a hate speech case. "We will cast our vote, it's our birthright, but that too is being snatched from us twice; if it gets snatched thrice, then you won't even to the right to breathe," said Khan.
Details on Khan's hate speech case
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Khan was charged with making inflammatory remarks at a public gathering in Khatanagaria village of Milak Kotwali. He was booked for making serious allegations against Rampur authorities, CM Adityanath, and PM Modi. Separately, in May 2022, the Allahabad High Court granted Khan interim bail in a matter linked to the wrongful possession of Waqf board land.
